How to be a Peck
by SilverStar00
Summary: Gail / Holly 100% This story is placed right after the wedding between Frank and Noelle. It is filled of spoilers about ck and Holly, so if you haven't watched the finale season you may want to avoid clicking on this fanfic and read another word. That's it! go ahead if you want :'D
1. Kissed By A Girl

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Before starting, it is not my first story but that doesn't change the fact that i'm not a native speaker.. so I apologize in advance for any kind of grammar error you might find.**

**I don't own any of the characters but when I saw those two on the screen I couldn't resist to do a fanfic about them. They deserve it!**

**Enjoy the reading :'D**

* * *

******CHAPTER 1  
****KISSED BY A GIRL**

**IT** was 7 am when the annoying clock alarm started singing...

A woman let out a growl and moved under the covers, she took one of the pillows and pressed it against her head in an attempt of muffle the sound but the trick didn't seem to work.

She used her free hand to reach the bedside table and hit the device which was emitting such an awful sound, throwing it to the ground.. the alarm stopped.

Gail Peck rose from the bed at 7:10 am and she was already in a bad mood.. she walked towards the bathroom, moving like a robot and in the process she hit her toe against one of the legs of the bed..

"Shit.." She screamed, jumping on the site. "Almost four years in this damn apartment and my pinkie is still a device for finding furniture in a dark room.." She complained, rubbing her little finger.

She regained her composure and stood in front of the bathroom's mirror.. She turned the lights on and slowly opened her eyes, and all the calm she had gathered so far broke again..

Her platinum blonde hair was a mess, all tangled and disheveled.. Judging by the bags under her eyes, it looked like she had not slept in a week .. and if that was not bad enough .. she was still wearing last night's clothes. That brilliant and tight dress which was comfortable for a couple of hours.. not for an entire night..

Yeah and her head was pounding hard.. apparently a whole bottle of champagne can make your head spin faster than with Epstein's monologues..

She took a deep breath, removed her clothes and climbed into the shower.. Peck did her best not to think about anything in particular and follow her morning ritual.. She took a long shower, brushed her teeth and got dressed with the hope of going through the day without more incidents.. But she was realistic, a day without problems was just as possible as getting the horse which you asked when you were a kid.. highly unlikely.

* * *

**DOV** Epstein was in the kitchen, holding the newspaper in one hand and a large cup of coffee in the other. He had his bag at his feet, ready to go down to work as soon as he finish his breakfast.

Gail's bedroom door was opened and he lifted his eyes from the page just in time to see the woman walking out of the door.. he automatically noticed she was hungover.

"Rough night?" He teased her with a smile on his face.

Gail just stared at him for a second to give him her best death look and then went straight to the coffee maker.. As usual she mentally turned off her partner's voice to make the morning a little bit less unbearable while swallowed an ibuprofen pill..

"Not seriously, I didn't hear you come in.. What time did you arrive?" He kept insisting.. like a dog with a bone.

"Dov.. it's early.. can't you keep your mouth shut just for a few minutes?" Gail said, avoiding the question but trying to play nice. "I'm not in the mood for small talk right now."

He closed the newspaper and focused on his friend.. he had found a new source of entertainment. "You don't wanna talk about last night in particular or about anything in general?" Gail could tell that he was enjoying the situation.

"You know what Dov?.. why don't you buy a personal life? That way you wouldn't have to worry about mine." She said in a whisper, but loud enough for him to hear it.

"Gosh.. you're mean even when you got a headache.." He stood, grabbing his bag and walked to the door.

"Get over it, Epstein." Gail growled, trying to have the last word.

Dov gave her a look before opening the door. "You're completely insane!" And saying that, he went out of the apartment.

Gail Peck sat down in one of the chairs, staring blankly. Those word had activated a switch in her brain and suddenly a memory came back to her.

* * *

"**So is it still fun getting dressed?"** She remember have said in that cloakroom, sitting next to that weird forensic pathologist.

Holly looked at her with a confused look. **"What do you mean?"**

"**Well, I mean, that's the most fun part of a date... is getting dressed. I mean, how does it work if two girls are getting dressed together?"**

Now that she was sober, she realized how out of place that question was.. she didn't know why the hell she had had the awesome idea of talking about that..

"**I don't know. How does it work with a guy?"** Holly asked, playing along.. 'At least if she thought that it was a strange question, she didn't say it anything about it.' Gail thought with relief.

"**I mean, if you live together, he gets dressed first, and then you get... dressed."**

The blonde rolled her eyes when she realized that she in fact had mentioned that. _'It's very stupid. Stupid question.'_**"What about... if you want to borrow a dress or shoes or clothes? I mean, is that cool? Do you share each other's things?"**

Holly took a long sip of the bottle she was carrying... **"I wouldn't share your things." **She said, laughing.. like if that phrase couldn't offend her at all.

Gail's expression changed, trying to figure out what Holly meant with that. **"What is wrong with my things?"**

The pathologist shrugged, playing down the matter. **"Nothing. They're just not my style."**

Gail lifted the cup of coffee she has prepared to her lips and took a sip.. She remember that in that point of the conversation she was pissed.. That girl who she barely knew, had pissed her off.

"**Oh, not enough fleece for you, Holly? Not enough backpacks?" **

She recalled have said that.. her voice filled with sarcasm. Gail needed to return the blow, no matter how.. but she didn't know exactly what to say.. so she dropped the first sentences that came up in her mind.

And then happened.. Holly leaned over her, laughing by her reaction and kissed her.. It was a quick and soft kiss... the blonde remembered that the brunette's lips were wet due to the champagne that she had been drinking. It was quite pleasant actually.. **"You are insane. You know that, right?"** Holly said with a smile still on her face, as if nothing had happened..

* * *

**GAIL** was totally frozen in her chair by then, trying to process all the information.. Then she remembered herself watching how Holly went out the room, leaving her there, sitting in the ground with a coat which it wasn't hers.. confused and with her jaw dropped.

She sighed loudly..

_'First Nick and Mcnally.. then a hell of a hangover and now this, a woman kissed me..and i supposed that this was gonna be a quiet day..'_ She thought, finishing her coffee..

Then she went out and locked the door of the apartment... She had to ready for the day she had ahead of her because she knew.. it wasn't going to be an easy one.

* * *

**If you have a minute, don't forget to review! I would appreciate your opinion or ideas. :'D**

**AHA**


	2. Long Night, Rough Morning

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**I'm gonna make a few changes, that means that things are not going to be like in the tv show..  
****Y'all have a great day and enjoy the reading.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2  
****LONG NIGHT, ROUGH MORNING**

**ONCE** Gail Peck arrived to the station, she went straight to the locker room to put on the uniform.. She had to do it quick because she was already late.. apparently she had spent more time in the apartment than she thought..

There was nobody in the room with her, so she didn't waste time pretending to care about other people's life. She proceeded to attach the radio to the belt, and managed to put her blonde hair up into a tight ponytail..

She stored her stuff in the locker and started running through the corridors, heading to the conference room where everyone was at this hour. She sneaked into the room, trying to go unnoticed.. but her platinum hair wasn't the best attribute to keep a low profile.

She advanced among the people till she reached the spot where her teammates was standing.. They all turned to her staring with an accusatory gaze.

"Oh so i'm one minute late? Please stare at me like I've just murdered 10 people." Gail blurted with sarcasm, rolling her eyes with dramatism.

They all sighed at the same time and looked back to Oliver Shaw who was in charge of the 15 division until Frank's return from his honey moon with his wife.

"It's gonna be a long day, so make sure you put some caffeine in your systems.. and remember, we're here to serve, to protect.. and to find Diaz's kid safe and sound.." He said, looking to all the people in the room. "Let's get back to work."

He hadn't ended the phrase when everybody started moving. "Peck! A word?" He screamed, raising his tone, looking in her direction.

The place was crowded so Gail waited for a bunch of people to leave the room before walking towards her superior. "Yes sir.." She said with a firm voice. "Sorry, I know i'm late.. i'll stay here in the office, doing the paperwork and answering phone calls.."

Oliver seemed to think about the suggestion. "Not today." He cut her off. "Chris's son has been abducted.. and we need the largest number of uniforms on the streets.. this is top priority, so i need you out there." He explained hastily. "We've sent a blood sample from the scene to the lab, and I need the results ASAP.. So go to the lab, see if you can hurry the process a little bit.."

Oliver Shaw turned around and started walking to his desk.. "Keep me posted, Peck!"

"On my way, sir" Peck said before heading to the parking area.

She had been trying not to think since she left the apartment, but now that she was driving alone in the squad car there was no place to hide from her own thoughts.

_'I had planned to avoid Holly as much as I could until clearing some things up, but it seems like i'm gonna have to deal with her in a few minutes.._' She thought as she was getting out of the station.

_'I think I'm mad at her.. or i'm just upset.. I don't know.. I mean she just kissed me, not big deal.. but then she left me there. I wasn't expecting that..' _Gail shook her head, she was confused but she didn't want to recognize it... She took the next street to the right and stopped at the traffic lights. '_It was just a kiss.. just her way to shut me up, and it worked'_

The building wasn't far from there, just a couple of minutes away.. _'Come on.. get over it Gail.. Christian is missing and that's the priority.. anything else can wait until tomorrow.'_ She told to herself, trying to turn off her thoughts. And for now, it seemed it was working.

* * *

**A** police officer has just delivered the blood samples from a kidnapping case about ten minutes ago and Holly was already testing them.. That kind of case was urgent, she knew that.. and she also knew that from one moment to another someone would appear in her lab, demanding results..

So the pathologist was working fast.. she was alternating her gaze between the microscope and the computer in which she had introduced the samples, trying to get a match. The process was slow and tedious, it could spend hours until the system find a match but she had to be optimistic.

She heard a noise coming from the door but she didn't need to lift her eyes to know what the person standing at the door wanted. "I have nothing yet.. I'll send the result as soon as I get something." She exclaimed, with her eyes fixed on the microscope.

The person didn't go away.. instead he or she walked into the lab and dropped something on the table. "I guess that i'll wait here then.." The voice sounded familiar to Holly, so she looked up to find a couple of blue eyes, staring at her. "I brought you coffee." Gail said, stepping back and pointing at the drink.

The brunette couldn't repress a small smile. "Thank you for the coffee, I really need it." She said, repositioning her glasses and taking sip. She liked the taste.. with milk, a teaspoon of sugar and cinnamon.. but it was extremely hot so she licked her lips trying to cool them down.

Gail looked at the ground without a word, and the brunette took advantage to look at her closely, she seemed serene and relaxed but then Holly noticed that she had put her poker face.. which meant that the blonde didn't want her to read her expression. "For how long have you been standing at the door?" The forensic pathologist teased her.

"Long enough.. I didn't want to interrupt you.." Gail answer, avoiding to answer the question.. The brunette saw that she was playing with her hands, apparently uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat.. "Hey..If you have some task to make, I can call you when.." Holly started saying but the other interrupted her.

"It's fine.. I'm staying." She said, non taken a no for an answer.

"Okay then.." The brunette said, recalibrating the microscope.. "I didn't see you leaving last night, in the wedding I mean." Holly dropped the words, trying to change the topic.

Gail looked at her for a second, and the pathologist believed to see nervousness in her eyes.. "Yeah.. I left early, I went with a friend to a bar..you know, to get some drinks, that kind of stuff." The blonde said holding her glare, challenging.

Now was the turn of Holly to be confused. "Ah.. Ok-aay.. I was just asking.." She mumbled, trying to know what to say. "Anyways just for you to know, I really enjoyed hanging out with you last night."

Gail raised her an eyebrow at the words, surprised.. in her lips was something similar to a smile. "Yeah.. Me too." She recognize in a friendly tone. "By the way I remember that you ki.." She started saying, but a loudly beep coming from the computer, didn't let her finish. Holly walked to the keyboard breaking the visual contact.. "it is a hit?" Gail said, standing behind her.. She tried to read the file that was on the screen but she didn't understand a word.

"Something like that.." The brunette managed to say, immersed on the reading.

"Do you have a name?" Peck asked, trying to get an answer.

"No.. the results came back inconsistent." Holly finished with the file and turned around to find the blonde's face just a couple of inches away from her.

The two of them remained quiet for several seconds, staring at each other's eyes until that Gail reacted. "In english please?"

The pathologist leaned back in the chair, putting some distance between them.. "It means that there were blood from two different people in the sample that was delivered." She explained as printed the file. "And that's not all..the two sample are related."

"You mean related like father and son related?" Gail asked, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Yeah.. could be, but I would need a blood sample from the kid to verify it." Holly said, giving her a copy of the file. She saw how the officer grabbed her phone and dialed a number. "Everything okay?" She asked, noticing the concern in the blonde's face.

"No, it's not.. something is off." Gail answered as she lifted the phone to her right ear. "Holly, I have to go now, thank you for everything.." She said waving the folder, like if she was saying thanks only for the information.. nothing else.

Gail Peck headed to the exit, her hand already in the doorknob but before going out she turned back for a second."I'll call you when I finish my shift." She said hurriedly before answering the phone, apparently the person on the other line had picked up the call.

And then Holly watched how the blonde disappeared behind the door, leaving her there with the words in the mouth. "Goodbye.." She whispered but there was nobody in the room who could answer, besides her.

* * *

**IT **was 9:30 pm in the city, and Holly was still in the lab, finishing some reports and working on a couple of old cases. She was doing everything she can to keep herself busy..

The pathologist couldn't avoid checking the phone every few minutes.. but every time she did so, she only found a black screen.. no messages, no missed calls, nothing..

She thought about calling to see how the kidnapping case was going, to check on Gail but it didn't take long for her to dismiss the idea, she didn't want to push her..

_'Gail have been acting strange this morning.'_ She thought.. _'She is not an easy person in regular basis but this morning she was even more indifferent than usual..Maybe she's worried about the kid.'_ She nodded to herself.

"Yeah.. It's have to be that.. what else could it be?" She said out loud, trying to sound convincing.

Holly started thinking about the kiss too.. she was afraid that Gail could have misinterpreted it.. but what the hell? not even her know what it meant.. The pathologist didn't know what was on her mind that night, why she leaned over to kiss her... it just happened...

The alcohol, the situation and the blonde had started to rant about nonsense.. she needed to stop her somehow.. and it happened that her lips were the only thing she had on hand in that moment..

She rolled her eyes, trying to keep the thought far from her, but somehow it always came back a few seconds later. _'...She's cute.. I mean yeah.. she's attractive but she's also straight for what I know.. i'm sure it meant nothing to her.. it can't be the reason she is acting strange.' _As a scientific she knew mind was a powerful tool, maybe if she repeated a lot of times something in which she want to believe in , perhaps.. maybe it would become true, or at least for her. _'Yeah.. it's not my fault.' _She was sure of it.

Then a noise made her come back to reality.

"Hey stranger.. Still working so late?" One of her labmates, stopped at her door.

She looked over her glasses, nodding. "I needed to catch up with some cases so.." She shrugged.

"I see, what are you working at.?" He asked with interest, leaning at the door.

"The Jane Doe who came in yesterday in the afternoon, and the kidnaping case.. from the 15 division." She explained, taking off the plastic gloves and threw them to the trash bin.

"Oh I've heard about it.. I think they've already found the kid, he was the son of one of the 15's officers." He commented absentmindedly. "Hey.. ahh i'm going out with the boys to grab some food and drinks... wanna come? I think..you could use some fresh air." He invited her with a smile.

Holly shook her head at the new information. "So they've found him, haven't they?" She asked confused, she thought that Gail would call her if there were news..

Marc, entered in the room, getting closer to her. "Yes, he's fine.. are you okay?" He said with concern.

Holly who had her look fixed on the ground lifted her eyes at him. "Yeah..It.. I'm cool.." she mumbled.. "You know what? Let's go get those drinks." She exclaimed, trying to smile as she took off her lab coat and grabbed her purse. "I need several shots right now." She said laughing as they went out of the building. "Where are we going?"

"To Penny's!.. besides I want you to meet someone." Marc said, he winked an eye on her and set a wide grin on his lips..

* * *

**Would you make me happy? Give me your opinion! It would be great to know if I need to change something :'D**

**AHA**


	3. Cold Drinks AND Hot Women

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Hey there again! I bring a new chapter.. I've written in it some new material so I hope you like it.. the story is gonna be a little slow in those first chapters but it will get better.**

**I didn't want to jump right to the point but y'all won't have to wait much, i promise..  
****I just ask for a little patience please..**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3  
****COLD DRINKS and HOT WOMEN**

**IT** wasn't even 10 pm and the bar was already full.. All the members of the 15 were there, joking and drinking.. celebrating after an exhausting day of work.

A blonde took a seat in front of the bar and raised an arm, trying to call the bartender's attention.  
Using her free hand, she grabbed her phone from her jeans's pocket and put it over the counter.. when the man who was attending the bar walked to her, she was abstracted, staring at the black screen of the phone with a lost look.

"Hey! Someone there?" The bartender joked with a smile.

Gail Peck with her gelid blue eyes wide open, gave him a look. "What do you think?" She said sharply, arching an eyebrow.

The guy looked at her from top to bottom, trying to find out what was wrong with that woman. "It seems like someone had a bad day uhh?"

"Wouhh.. You're observant." She said, ignoring the question..showing a bitter smile. "Can I have a glass of whiskey? And hold the ice.." She asked as politely as she could while she was playing with the phone.

"You got it!" The young man said with an amused tone while he put a clean glass ahead of her. He stepped back to reach one of the bottles of scotch from the shelf, giving her respite. "So.. what's your name blondie?" He opened the bottle and poured some of that delicious amber liquid in the glass.

The officer sighed loudly, clearly upset by all the questions. "None of your damn business.. What about you? What's your name?" Her voice was filled with irony.

"I'm Jason." He winked to her with a grin, obviously flirting with her … "Nice to meet you none of your damn.." He started saying.

"You're Funny." Gail cut him off, leaning over the counter.. You could practically touch the sarcasm.. "Jason, make it double." She whispered, pointing at the drink. "For the headache you're causing me.." Then she leaned back in the bar stool again ,feeling satisfied... the guy had finally understood the hints.. She hadn't been acting like an asshole for no reason, it was just that she wasn't interested on him.. Jason filled her glass and walked away, dejected..

* * *

**ABOUT **30 seconds later, Tracy Nash sat in the free bar stool next to her..

"Got to say, Gail.. you have style telling people off.." She told her with honesty.

The blonde lifted the glass to her lips, and took a long sip.. She tilted her head to look at her as she felt the burning liquid going down her throat. "What can I say? A lot of years of practice." She explain, laughing.

The relation which those two shared, was odd, for say something. Tracy and Gail had completely different personalities and distinct tastes.. they were almost poles apart.

They had never got along, just enough to work together but that changed the day in which they found out they had something in common. When they found out that Andy and Nick had going into a covert operation without telling anyone.. From one day to the next, Gail was left again by her boyfriend Nick.. and Tracy needed a new friend, considering that Andy was gone, for who knew how long.

Since then, they started talking about stuff and hanging out together.. And eventually they connected and became friends.. really good friends, taking into account they were like oil and water..

"So detective.. What brings you here, among the other mortals beings?" Gail joked, alternating her gaze between the other woman and her cellphone.

"Yeah, I know.. I've been busy lately but today everything ended up just fine.. and that deserves a drink, or maybe two." She excused herself with a grin. "Are you waiting for a phone call?" She asked with caution.

The blonde cursed mentally but she knew her friend had become detective for something.. "No.. i'm actually thinking about making one.." She simply told her, without giving her any more details.

"To Nick?" Tracy tried, but somehow she knew that the blonde wasn't talking about him.

Gail finished her drink in an attempt to buy some time... Tracy wasn't the kind of woman who like to talk about rumors and gossip, so the detective wouldn't insist if she didn't want to talk about it, but deep inside she knew that she needed to get it out of her system.

"I.. kissed Holly.." She said with her gaze lost to the front like if it was nothing as she was trying to call Jason to get another drink but Jason was deliberately ignoring her..

"You mean Holly, like the forensic pathologist Holly?" She said, trying hard not to sound surprised.. she was aware that if Gail thought that she was judging her, she would probably activate the sarcasm mode.. and then it would be impossible to talk to her.

The blonde showed a twisted smile. "Yeah that Holly who happens to be a woman..but actually she was the one who kissed me, or I don't know, I was a little drunk.. maybe I kissed her and she kissed me back..it's all fuzzy and unclear." She realized that the things she was saying, did not make any sense but she couldn't shut her mouth.

"Okay okay.. I get it.. Holly and you kissed.. Holly who today is wearing black jeans and a dark red blouse, isn't she?" Tracy said, taking a look over her shoulder.

"Yes, that's right.. why? How? have you seen her today?" Gail asked, with surprise on her face..

"You could say so.." Nash explained, pointing at a group of people who were standing in the front door. "She has just walked into the bar.."

Gail's eyes followed the direction in which her friend was pointing and then she looked back at her phone.. "Fuck me.." That was all she managed to say.

* * *

**HOLLY** entered into the bar with a bunch of people.. Marc was with her, along with a pair of coworkers from the lab.

"God, this place is crowed." Holly raised her tone to be heard over the noise.

"I know." Marc leaned to say to her ear. "But here is where I told my cousin we would be.." He lifted his head, looking for someone among the people. "Yeah, there she is." He pointed at a woman who was holding a drink in one of the corners. "Come with me, I'll introduce you."

Holly followed him, breaking through the crowd to reach her. The next thing that knew was that she was standing by her side.

"Hey doll!" Marc greeted her as she hold Holly by her arm. "Susie, this is my friend Holly; Holly this is my cousin Susan." He did the presentations and stepped back.

Holly leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. "Hi, it's nice to meet you." She said, being friendly.

"You too!"The woman answered with a smile.

"She is new in town, and I thought that you could show her the surroundings." Marc explained, giving to her labmate a knowing look.

"Sure, no problem." The pathologist answered as she took a look at her new friend. She was tall, a couple of inches more than her, she was thin but judging by the muscles of her arms, she realized that she was in shape. Her hair was dark and curly and she had a couple of beautiful greenish almond eyes. Yeah.. she was definitely hot.

"I'm gonna go to .. see a few friends.. so i'm gonna leave you two alone so that you could know each other better and maybe be friends or.. who knows." Marc's smile was now spreading for his entire face. "See you later guys." And then he disappeared among the people.

Holly who was following him with her gaze, turned back to Susan. "Sorry, I think this has turned to be a set up." She apologized to her.

Susan laughed at the comment. "It's fine, don't worry about me.. I always enjoy meeting new people."

"Do you want to go and get a drink?" Holly asked, trying to have a good time.

She wasn't aware that a couple of blue eyes had been following her all along the room since the second she had walked into the bar but that fact had not gone unnoticed to Susan.

"I already have one but I think a need a refill." She said, finishing the liquid with a last sip. "Marguerite, please.. Oh and I think you should know that the blonde, sitting in the bar over there hasn't taken her eyes off you."

Holly looked towards the spot.. it didn't take her long till she recognized the platinum haired girl who Susan was referring to. The blonde quickly looked away when she realized she had been caught. "God.. Karma is a bitch!" The pathologist cursed, tilting her head.

"Friend of yours?" Susan commented between laughs.

"Guess something like that.. I'll be back in a minute." Holly blurted as she headed to the bar.

* * *

"**SHE'S** coming, she's coming!" Tracy whispered to her friend's ear when she watched how Holly was walking towards them.

"Okay, look calm.." Gail said, controlling her own tone.. She had not even finished the phrase when Holly appeared next to her. "Hi you." Her voice was steady, neutral..

"Hello guys." The brunette said drily, waving a hand.

Tracy nodded with a smile.. but Gail: "Hi" She repeated unconsciously.

"Ah.. you do realize that you have already said that, right?" Holly cleared her throat, she seemed a bit upset but she was trying to hide it.

The blonde shook her head sharply, cursing in her mind. "Sorry.. I wanted to apologize, I know I said that I would call you but it has been a hell of a day, and then it was late and I didn't wanna bother you with .. everything." She excused herself.

"It's okay Gail I get it.. you can stop talking." Holly said in the same angry tone but she couldn't hide the smile which appeared on her lips. "Can I have a marguerite and.. a gin tonic with a slice of lemon and some lemon juice please." She demanded, calling Jason's attention.

"You know.. your drinks are on me." The blonde told her, taking some cash from her pocket. "Maybe you could invite me to a round later." She shrugged, staring at those brown eyes, behind the glasses.

Holly hold her glare. "Actually i'm with someone tonight.. maybe another day." She said, touching her arm deliberately before picking up the drinks.

Gail turned to Susan who was in the corner, talking with someone, laughing at some joke. "Is it a.. date or something?" She asked with her lips pursed.

Holly who was already walking to her "date", turned to her for a second.. "I don't know.. we'll see. Goodbye Tracy.. see you Gail." And after that she headed to Susan.

* * *

**"WOUHH"** Nash let out when the pathologist was far enough.

"Wouhh what?" Gail turned to her with a death look.

"Okay double wouhh and second.. easy there tiger!" She exclaimed, raising her hands in surrender. "And what was that? You usually have some kind of pathologic fear to talking more than 5 minutes without using a sarcastic joke.." Nash leaned back to look at the blonde.

Gail covered her eyes with her hands and lay her head against the counter with frustation.

"I think you need another drink, my friend." The detective mumbled while she ordered a bottle of tequila and a couple of small glasses.

Gail just nodded, waiting for her to say something else.

"Why didn't you call her? You have been here for almost two hour, staring at the phone like if it was going to bite you... you're not that kind of girl so what the hell?" Tracy had hit the mark, she knew that.

JJason put the bottle over the counter in front of them, and then shot Gail a glare before leaving them alone. The blonde just ignored him and proceeded to serve a couple of shots. "Because.. I barely know her and I already care about her." She just swallowed one of the shots, like if her response wasn't cryptical at all.

"That doesn't make any sense Gail." Her friend confessed, trying to understand what she meant.

"It does.. to me it does." Gail Peck snatched the glass from Tracy's hand and gulped it at once, throwing her head back.

"Would you mind to be a little bit more specific?" Nash asked, filling the glasses and making sure than hers was out of her friend's reach.

The blonde leaned back on her seat, thinking about what she was going to say. "It's quite simple actually... when I care about someone, it means that that person has the power to let me down and hurt me..And I don't wanna get hurt anymore, i'm done being the broken one." She admitted with anguish.

"So.. you want to avoid caring about someone to prevent getting hurt again, that's it? Because if that's it, it's just stupid." Tracy knew that say those words to Gail in that way wasn't the smartest decision of the universe but she had to be honest to her.

The blonde was about to open her mouth to replicate when Tracy said five more words which made her bite her tongue. "That woman is not Nick.."

Gail Peck remained silent..for several seconds. There weren't many ocassions in which the blonde didn't have anything to say, so that meant something.. She seemed to be thinking about what Tracy had just said.

"You're right.." She finally said, tilting her head to look at the dark haired woman, next to her . "Good chat Nash." She took her glass and lifted it. "I wanna make a toast.."

Tracy lifted her glass too and waited for what she knew it was coming. "For you and me.. and the fact that if you ever get fired from homicides, you could always become my personal therapist. Cheers!" Gail said, almost screaming before finishing her drink.

There it was, Tracy knew that the sarcastic toast was the nearest she would ever get to a formal thank from her friend. It was her twisted way to thank her for everything..

The detective put her empty glass on the counter and looked at her friend. "Cheers! And If anyone ever breaks your heart, just remember that you can break every single bone of their bodies.. You're a Peck for something, girl." Nash said with a drunk grin, apparently the shots had begun to wreak havoc on them but in that moment... they couldn't care less.

* * *

**I'm already working in the next chapter, and it'll be action in it but i'm not saying anything else, so I leave you with the doubts.. ;'D Don't hate me too much..  
****Bye Bye!**

**AHA **


	4. The Exception Of Every Rule

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Sorry for the delay, this is a long chapter, and somehow tricky to write.. but I hope you like it...  
****I'm trying something a bit different in this part .. It starts in the morning after the previous chapter..****Good reading!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

**THE EXCEPTION OF EVERY RULE..**

**THE** building in which the morgue was located, it was usually known for being a quiet area, it had a bunch of surveillance cameras scattered through the halls and a pair of night watchmen but during the rest of the day, security shone by its absence...

But who could blame them..? As a rule the fact that in that basement were stored the dead corpses of the whole city was a motive by itself to keep curious people away from that cold and lugubrious place..

But at the end.. every rule has its exception, and that sunny morning was a day as good as any other to break that rule..

That was how Holly, the forensic pathologic who always arrived early to work, was standing in the autopsy room, behind the sterilized table with a gun pointing at her head.

Holly had the impression of having been in that position for what it seemed hours.. she thought that it was strange.. time passed extremely slow when there was someone in front of you, holding a fire gun.

Then the following events happened too fast, as if someone had pressed the forward button all of the sudden.

She heard a loud noise coming from outside when someone broke the door of the lab down... She covered her eyes unconsciously, and when she opened them again, about two seconds later, Dov Epstein and Gail Peck were in the room with her..

The brunette was frozen, watching the scene from the middle of the room.. She noticed the officers had drawn their service guns.. They were pointing at the subject right now, in front of her eyes.

The whole situation seemed totally unrealistic to her..  
Scared, the unknown man lost control.. He alternated her gaze between the doctor and the two armed police officers.. he finally decided to point at the greatest threat and then, he opened fire..

* * *

**8 HOURS BEFORE... ON THE PREVIOUS NIGHT**

**AFTER** getting the drinks, Holly was entertained talking to Susan...

They were sitting on a table, in one of the corners when she recognized Gail's voice over the sound of the crowd, making a toast.. The brunette stopped talking in mid sentence and stared at the bar counter, trying to hear what the blonde was saying with curiosity..

Susan who was no fool had noticed that Holly had chosen to sit on the chair in which she could see the bar if she raised her head.. every time to time, the pathologic looked away from her to look for someone on the bar's area.

Susan considered herself a realistic woman.. she rarely believed in coincidences and she was completely sure about one thing that night.. the fact that Holly was staring repeatedly at the spot where she knew the blonde was, wasn't a coincidence at all.

"It has been great to meet you." She started, catching Holly's attention who was still with her head in somewhere else. "But it's my first day here and i'm tired for the travel." She said, excusing herself.

Holly nodded, feeling a little guilty... she knew she didn't deserve a medal for her behavior. "Don't worry, I understand. No wonder you need to catch up with some sleep." She said, pushing her glasses up her nose with her middle finger.

Susan pushed the chair back to stand up, and Holly did the same. "I'll walk you out." Holly offered and then they walked out of the bar together.

Once they were outside, Susan turned to her, looking at her with those big, beautiful eyes. "I know that you had things on your mind tonight.. so can I call you one of these days to try again? I really need a guide who show me around." She admitted with a brilliant smile.

Holly who was feeling more guilty by the second had to accept. Maybe, that would make her feel better.. "Sure! Hold on.." She said, rummaging in her purse for a few seconds till she finally found what she was looking for. "Here!" She exclaimed, giving her a personal card. "Don't be impressed.. I bought them a couple of years ago and i still have a lot of them.." She confessed, laughing..

"Really? I find it hard to believe.. one hour ago, I didn't know you, and I already wanted to ask you for your number." Susan said, no taking her eyes away from her.

Holly sighed and swallowed heavily .. knowing that the next seconds could be either really pleasant or completely uncomfortable...

* * *

**TRACY** gave Gail a nudge in the ribs.. "Gail, they're gone!" She whispered, looking everywhere.

Gail immediately raised her head. "What? When? Where? I thought that you were keeping an eye on them." She said with an accusatory look.

"I was.. They may have gone outside when I wasn't looking." Nash explained, staring at her empty glass.

"Okay fine.." The blonde stood up, trying to keep her balance. "I'm going out to check it out." She seemed determined.

Nash couldn't repress a smile. "She's gonna think you're a stalker."

The blonde shrugged. "Well, i'm not stalking anybody.."

"And you're drunk.." She exclaimed, trying to put some sense into her.. Now she was laughing openly lossing control..

"That's not a problem.. when i'm drunk I used to be honest.. I think that it's a favor in my point." She shrugged again, downplaying the issue.

"I think you mean that it's a point in your favor." The detective clutched her stomach with her hands.. much laughter cannot be good, she thought.

Gail Peck froze for a second, considering her options.. "Okay then... Slap me!" She ordered, positioning herself in front of Tracy.

"What?" She asked, not knowing for sure if she had listened right.

"I said.. Slaaap-m" Gail couldn't finish the words because something hit her face.. She didn't see the hand coming.. "Auhh.. Damn, I forgot that you used to do boxing." She complained, rubbing her left cheek.

It was Tracy's turn to shrug. "Your fault.." She just said..

The platinum blonde didn't say another word, she just headed to the front door, without a plan B on mind.. Correction, she didn't even have a plan A.

* * *

**IT **was cold on the street, at the moment she hit the streets, she felt the frozen wind, whipping her face and hair... but she didn't care, the alcohol would keep her warm for a bit.

She took a look around till her eyes stopped on one of the cars of the parking lot.. Holly was sitting on the hood of a Dodge, with her head tilted staring at the sky.

Gail looked up, there wasn't any stars that night.. as usual at that station, too many clouds to see something. She started walking to the car.. and at the sound of footsteps, Holly looked down at her.

"Want some company?" The blonde said when their eyes met.

The doctor didn't say anything.. she just moved to make room for her.. A few seconds later, Gail was sitting by her side. "I would be careful if I were you.. I might think you're following me." She had her look lost in the sky again.

"Whouhh I didn't know you were so egocentric.." The policewoman winced. "I was heading home.. if you must know."

"Really?" Holly asked, looking at her from top to bottom for a second.. "And have you planed to come by here again to get your stuff, or you were just gonna leave your coat and purse inside the bar?"

The other woman cursed under her breath when she realized the brunette was right. "I just needed some fresh air, that's all.." She lied..

Holly laughed, it wasn't any secret that the woman had taken some drinks.. a lot of them actually.. "Yeah.. it doesn't surprise me"

"What is that supposed to mean?" The blonde turned her head to look at her straight in the eyes. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked, a little upset.

The brunette hold her glare without trouble, she didn't mean to offend her. "It's nothing.. Forget about it."

They didn't say anything for some minutes, just making company to each other..

Gail have always liked the silence, she thought that it was better hear nothing than hear people saying stupid things.. but one thing was, wanting silence in a room full of people and a completely different one, was the silent between two people who were alone..

She used to find that kind of situations awkward.. that's why she surprised when she realized that the silent between them right now, wasn't making her feel uncomfortable at all. She trusted Holly since the first time they met, she somehow knew that she could be herself with her because she will never judge her.. And Gail Peck liked that...

"What about your 'friend'? You know, the hot one.. where has she gone?" Gail blurted, breaking the silence suddenly.

"The hot one?" Holly arched her eyebrows, thinking that she had heard wrong..

The blonde just shrugged. "Well, If I were into women I would think she's kinda hot." She said with a smile on her face.

"I see.. she's on her way home.. I presume." She added, glancing down at the ground.

"Oh.. " Gail whispered. "What happened?" She asked with undisguised curiosity. "She wasn't your type?Too tall?"

"I think I don't have a type but it's nothing like that.. It's been a long day and i'm tired..but we exchanged phone numbers though." She explain with a sad smile which didn't go unnoticed at the blonde, despite her actual state.

Then, Gail decided to go to the point. "Are you free tomorrow night or have you already made plans?"

Holly seemed surprise by the change of subject. "No, I actually have nothing to do..Why?"

"Okay then, i'll pick you up after work." The policewoman let her know.

"You're not gonna ask me first If I wanna spend my free time with you?" Holly teased her, pushing her glasses back and onto her head.

Gail rose from the car, and positioned herself in front of the doctor, unable to say if she was joking or not.. "That depends.. will you say no?" She asked in a low voice.

"Maybe.." Holly whispered with a smirk, dragging the word to its maximum..

Now she was sure she was joking.. "Then no, I'm not asking for anything.. I'll see you tomorrow and it's actually an order.. " The words came out from Gail's voice who was using her authoritative voice, daring her to refuse the proposition.

"Yes ma'am." The brunette answered, playing along. "Now I think.. I should get going now.."

The doctor stood up too, and suddenly Gail realized how close they were in that moment.. her face was just a few inches away from hers. She stared at the brunette's eyes which were shining.. and watched how Holly under tha gaze to look at her mouth, biting her own lip.

Following an impulse, Gail leaned in .. .. ..

but in the last second, Holly stopped her, putting a finger over her lips.

"You're way too drunk... and you know it." She whispered..

Gail heard the words and understood what she meant but she also noticed that she hadn't pulled her away either... She could literally feel on her cheeks Holly's warm breath, she could smell her scent.. there was no turning back for her right now.. "I'm not that drunk.. and besides.. you're the one who was in a parking lot.. in the dark, sitting in the hood, watching at the sky in which by the way, there's nothing to see .. I think you could be worst than me right now.. " Gail said in the same tone, making her point.

Holly sighed, trying to control herself.. She was feeling the the blonde's smooth lips under her finger.. .. "I really doubt it.. that's practically impossi-"

She was cut off when Gail's hand grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to close the distance between them... the next thing she knew was that the blonde was all over her, kissing her.

Holly didn't respond for a moment, so Gail's mouth started to play with hers, moving smoothly, barely touching her lips.. trying to provoke her..  
Then she lightly bit her lower lip... and that seemed to pulse a switch on her, which automatically made her react.. Their lips started moving together, slowly and softly for the first several seconds and then, more faster..

Eventually the brunette placed a hand to the back of the other's head, grabbing her hair to deepen the kiss, at that very moment, Gail's tongue made contact with her lips, sliding over them... a chill ran through her due to the feeling. Gail noticed it, and smiled against her mouth, without moving away from her.

They continued dancing with their tongues, licking and bitting till the moment in which their lips started to burn.. Without really wanting to stop, Holly started to slow down to finally end the kiss, despite her wishes.

Hardly keeping the balance and with a heavy and ragged breathing... they opened their eyes and stared at each other..  
Icy blue and hazel eyes, shining in the dark of that desert parking lot.

* * *

**AN HOUR BEFORE THE INCIDENT**

**HOLLY** found herself lying on her back in her large bed, staring at the ceiling of the room. After having been awake almost the entire night, she could draw to perfection every one of the inches of that ceiling..

Because since she went to bed, several hours back.. she had been circling over the mattress, not wanting to sleep.. She knew that the thoughts about what happened last night were far better than any dream she could have during the night.. Well, better than almost every dream but she wasn't taking any chances.

She threw her head back against the pillow, closing her eyes with a smile.. Thoughts about Gail were invading her mind.. The blonde was so intoxicating.. basically she was like a drug to the doctor...

She remembered the way her light blue eyes shone outside that bar, the movement of her hands touching her.. her perfume floating around her, the taste of her lips and how they felt against her skin..

Then the alarm of her phone buzzed next to her, breaking her line of thoughts.. She jumped out of the bed and put some music, in a attempt to silence her mind. Took a cold shower, get dressed and made some good strong coffee.. she definitely needed it..

* * *

**5 MINUTES BEFORE THE INCIDENT**

**IT** was 6:55 am when the pathologist arrived to work, the night watchman was outside the building, smoking the last cigarette before heading home.

Holly waved a hand to him and went inside, then she took the elevator to go down to her floor.. She assumed that nobody would be down there yet.

That's why whe looked surprised when she noticed that the lights were on.. And that was odd.. she remembered herself turning them off last night.

She walked through the corridor and suddenly she saw someone at her lab.. it was a guy, leaning over the file drawer, looking for something..

"Sir, this is a private area.. and you got no authorization to be down here." She started to say, with her precious coffee in her hand. The man turned to her, surprised.. Apparently he didn't expect to find someone there so early in the morning either. "I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.." Holly examined the guy carefully, there was something strange about him.. the way he moved, the way his eyes were dancing over the room, in an uncontrolled manner.. He seemed to be high on something..

After a couple of seconds, the man brought a hand to his pocket and pulled something from it. Holly's face paled when she recognized the object with which the guy was pointing at her, it was a gun.. She held her breath, feeling how the coffee thermos slipped between her fingers to crash against the floor and break into pieces, staining the floor with the dark liquid..

"Where is she? I must take her with me.." Were the words he mumbled.. his pulse trembled and so did the gun on his hand. "WHERE IS SHE?" He repeated, raising the tone..

Holly's mind was as blank as her face.. She wasn't even processing the words she was hearing, they were just an echo in her head... all she could do, was staring at the man's hand..

The stranger screamed noisily with frustration and the doctor finally reacted.. "Where is who, sir? Who are you looking for?" She realized that in that moment, she could only talk due to her legs were frozen, they did not respond.. despite that she was ordering them to run out of there, and fast..

"Her.. she, my sister.. whe-re is.. my.. ohh.. sister?" He sputtered but Holly managed to understand what he said.

"Okay..fine.." She said, trying to calm him down.. "I'm gonna help you out, we'll find your sister okay?..just look at me.." Holly wanted to get his attention, she wanted him to look at her in the eyes.. that way he wouldn't notice how she brought her hand to her back pocket to reach her phone and dial the numbers 911. "What's your sister's name? How does she look?" She asked, trying to buy some time till someone picked up on the other line of the phone.

Her words seemed to bother him because he started walking around the room, wagging the gun frenetically, pointing at everywhere.. "WAS? What was her name?.. How- How did she look?" He yelled, with an erratic voice.

"Sir, sir please..why don't you put that gun down? And I'm so sorry.. about your sister." She said loud enough, trying to soothe him but also giving indications about her situation to emergencies.. "That's why you has come here, to the morgue."

He shook his head brusquely, nodding.. "She passed away two days ago.. an overdose.." He said wiping some tears out of his face with the tip of the sleeve.

Holly linked the dots right away, she knew the woman he was talking about.. The Jane Doe they brought in the day before yesterday.. It fit.. but she couldn't let him take her..

The only thing she could do was wait.. She just hoped that there was someone listening at the other side of the phone line..

* * *

**GAIL** had just climbed into her squad car with Epstein who was her partner today.. They were leaving the station when a radio call caught her attention.

"_To all units.. we got a break-in at the morgue." _The voice on the radio said..

The blonde looked at the device with disbelief, with panic in her eyes. "1503 responding.. we're on our way.. What's the situation?" Epstein answered the call.

She noticed that the morgue was in the other direction, so she used the handbrake and turned the steering wheel, which made screech the wheels of the patrol car as the vehicle slid on the asphalt.

"_The subject is a male, considered armed and dangerous.. A witness who is in the building reported it so we presume there are hostages implicated."_

"Copy that.." Dov added while Gail put the sirens.. The squad car advanced fast through the streets, heading to the heart of the city.

* * *

**5** minutes later, Dov and his partner were in the hall, inside of the building.. They were listening in silent the conversation that was taking place within the closed office..

The blonde policewoman tried to opened the door carefully, she grabbed the knob door and tried to turn it.. but it didn't work, the door was locked from inside.

"We should wait for backup." Epstein whispered, in a low voice. "They cannot be far from here."

Gail gave him a look of frustration, that room was the one in which Holly used to work.. She tried to picture the situation that they would find inside but each scenario was worst than the last one..

In conclusion.. she didn't like the thought of someone pointing at the doctor with a gun.. she didn't like it at all.

"We have to go in, Dov.. someone could be in danger as we speak here.." She answered quickly. She felt the nerves in her stomach bubbling and rising, or maybe it was fear.. Gail wasn't sure but one thing was clear. She needed to go into that room now..

Then they started to hear shouting.. "Is that a phone?" A male voice said, screaming. "Have you called someone?" He continued hysterical..

"No, I haven't I swear.." A female voice sounded.. Gail's skin was naturally white but after hearing that voice, she paled even more.

Without thinking, the blonde grabbed her official gun. "It's enough.. I'm going in with or without you Epstein.." Then she kicked the door with her boot to bust the lock.

Epstein draw her weapon too, and they entered inside the room together.. They automatically pointed at the bad guy..

When the subject assimilated that the police was after him, he freaked out. The man raised the weapon, alternating his gaze between Holly who was behind the table and them.

"You called them! You called the cops.." He screamed, looking at Holly with an accusatory look in his eyes. "You lied to me.."

"Sir.. Calm down, she had no choice." Gail said, using a firm tone.. "Now drop the gun and turn around"

The subject turned to her staring at her eyes.. "I'm not gonna do that." He grabbed the gun with both hands, pointing at them. His index finger was on the trigger.. The blonde noticed it, she had been trained to notice thing like that.

"Dov! Watch out!" She screamed and jumped to the side to take cover behind a couch. The armed man opened fire at the same time she said that, one bullet came out of the barrel of the gun pointed at who knew where.

The sound was deafening, their ears were ringing .. Gail who was lying on the floor behind the couch took a look to her partner.. She released a sighed when she checked he was okay.. Dov had managed to take cover behind the door.

Then she stood slowly, her heart rate was high.. she knew it because she felt the pulses rhythmically pounding in her chest. She hadn't dropped her gun, so she lifted it.. her knuckles were white because she was holding it too strong. "I'm coming out, Sir.. but if you do something stupid like that again.. mi partner will shoot you.. Alright?" Gail said, coming out of hiding.. cold sweat was covering her forehead.

She knew that Epstein was behind her, pointing at the guy, so she focused at the suspect and Holly.. The doctor had hidden under the table, following a instinct of self preservation but she seemed to be okay considering the circumstances.

"Sir.. We're not the enemy.. we're here to help.. Can you hear me?" Gail said, trying to control her voice but it came out of her mouth in a tone that it didn't seem hers.

The man lowered the gun and stammered something.. then he nodded.

"I'll help you in everything i can but I need you to do something for me first." He was silent, waiting for her to continue.. "That woman over there.. she's innocent, she has nothing to do with this.. I need you to let her go, can you do that for me?"

After several seconds thinking about it, the man nodded again..

"Thank you..buddy." She admitted as she tried to build a personal connection with the suspect. "Holly, come here, walk to the door.." She said.. her voice was soft and low when she spoke to the doctor.. her eyes were alternating between the armed man and the table in which Holly was hiding.

Finally Holly got up and stare at her.. She was scared, Gail just had to look at her face to see it. The doctor walked toward the door but when she was about to reach it the man ordered her to stop.

The blonde advanced some steps to place herself between the man and the doctor,keeping her away from the firing line . "What happen? You told me that you were gonna let her go.." She was prepared, in case that she had to fire back.

"I change my mind.. I see the TV and I know that If she leaves this room I will have nothing to negotiate with."

"I'm sorry but this doesn't work like that.. you have to let her go and drop your weapon, then we could talk.." Something was wrong and the blonde knew it.. The guy was getting more nervous and the backup hadn't arrived yet.. they were on their own.

He shook his head. "No.. you, the doctor come back here again." He screamed.

Holly was about to do what he said but Gail held her by the arm. "She's not going anywhere.." The blonde said, protecting her.. Then looked at Dov and made a signal to be ready. "I'm gonna be honest with you.. you're surrounded..and there are only two ways to get out of here.. by your own foot if you cooperate now, or on a stretcher..So it's your choice.. Which is gonna be?" It was a long shoot.. but she had to try.

He settled his gaze on her before answering. "Neither of them."

Then everything happened too fast... the guy lifted his arm and pointed the gun at the girls, Gail stepped back and tried to protect Holly with her own body...  
And Epstein who was pointing at the intruder hesitated, but he finally fired his weapon.. twice..

So far so good..But the problem was that three bullets were shot at 7 am in the building.

* * *

**So what do you think? I don't know when i'll update but it'll be soon.  
****Ohh.. and if you have a sec, leave a review.. that way i will know if this goes in the right direction.. or not**

**Have a nice week!**

**AHA**


	5. Playing Doctors

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Hello again! Before anything.. I apologize for the cliffhanger :'D  
****I had to stop writing.. otherwise the chapter would have been too long..  
**

**BUT I told you i was going to update soon enough.. and here I am.. I've spent the night writing.. ¬.¬  
****Thanks for the messages and reviews! I really like to know your reactions, opinions or suggestions..**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

**PLAYING DOCTORS**

"**OFFICER** down, officer down! I need an ambulance at the morgue right now." Dov Epstein was screaming at his radio device.

He was overwhelmed, practically holding his breath but when he heard that the ambulance was on its way, he allowed himself letting out a long sigh.

He walked to the man who he had shot at.. his hands were trembling but he manage to press the man's neck with his finger, enough time to know that there wasn't a pulse..

"He is dead.. or at least it seems he is.." He thought..

The policeman grabbed the weapon from his hands and put it away, just in case.. then he sat on the floor next to him, covering his head with his hands, trying to cool off a little.

Then he remembered the shooting again, and realized that his partner was injured.. he raised his head to look at the direction where Gail was lying..

* * *

**HOLLY** had found some clean bandages and she was on top of the blonde, applying pressure to the wound with her hands. The bullet had reached her in the left shoulder and it hadn't come out so it was still in her body.

The brunette had managed to stop the bleeding, the wound didn't look bad, considering.. but after all, it was a gun wound, and Holly didn't want to take any chances.

Gail Peck opened her blue eyes slowly, she didn't pass out at any time but she was slightly dazed by the blood lost. She blinked a few times, squinting to focus ..

And meanwhile Holly could see how her pupils changed size, trying to adjust to the light. When she finally was satisfied with her vision, she fixed her gaze on the woman on top of her.

"I'm quite sure that this position is inappropriate.. Holly.. You should know that i'm on service right now." The blonde whispered, laughing. She moved, trying to rose and suddenly a cramp ran through her entire arm which made her wince.. "Ouchh That hurts.." She complained.

Holly looked at her with a serious face.. "Karma is a bitch, right?" She said, trying to hide the smile which was threatening to leave her lips.. She didn't find the situation funny but she recognized that Gail was coping it quite well.. She was amazed that even in a situation like this, she could make her smile.

"Tell me about it. So, how does it look doctor?" The blonde asked to her, trying to take a look at her shoulder but Holly made her put her head back on the floor again.

"I don't know.. like a gun wound I guess.." Holly blurted as she pulled her glasses down to her nose so that she could look over the wire.

Gail arched her eyebrows in disbelief "Wouhh.. I could have said that..where did you get your title? Really.." She teased her.

"I'm not used to work with people who are actually alive, okay? Sue me.. And for the record, you're a horrible patient..." She answered with a smile..

"But if you're asking me to guess, then i would say that you're lucky girl, it's not a serious wound, it will leave a mark though."

"Don't care.. Some people think that scars are sexy.." The said, intentionally avoiding Holly's gaze because she knew the brunette was staring at her. "Tell me doc, when will you give me the medical discharge?" She joked, playing along.

"I'm afraid you're not gonna get it anytime soon. The doctors have to take that bullet out of your shoulder before anything." Holly told her, changing the bandage.

Gail was aware that she had asked Holly out on a date, last night. "That can't be possible.. I have an appointment tonight that i cannot miss." Gail said, trying to get back on her feet but the brunette stopped her.

"Then I guess you'll have to reschedule." The pathologist said as shrugged.

"I don't know.. this woman spends all day surrounded by bones and dead people.. it's kind of tricky get her out of the lab." The blonde mumbled..

"You know, you deserve that bullet." The brunette joked. She turned her head to see where Dov was.. Since the shooting he hadn't said much.. he was just sitting in the ground with the head between his hands.

Gail pouted, pretending to be offended.. "So I take a bullet for you, and this is how you pay me back.. Note it.." She stated.. then she noticed that Holly was gazing somewhere behind her and she figured it was Dov who attracted her attention. "Is he okay?" She asked, trying not to sound worried.

"I don't know.." She answered in a whisper.

Then he suddenly stood up, as if he had heard the conversation, and came closer to them. "How are you doing Peck? Does it hurt?" He asked, looking at the wound and the bloody bandages.

"I've been better.." The blonde admitted.. And she wasn't lying.. the adrenaline rush from the shooting was starting to disappear and the pain was starting to bother her. She felt that her shoulder was burning but she was cold and pale. But Gail Peck hated being the victim so she tried to redirect the attention to her partner. "What about you.. Are you okay?" She couldn't repress a flinch which didn't go unnoticed to anyone in the room.

Dov nodded, looking at the ground. "I've been better too but you're worst than me right now which is comforting.." He teased her while Holly was checking her temperature.

"You did what you have to do, Dopstein.. Thank you by the way." She said with a serious face.

"Did you just say thank you?" He asked amazed.. "I thought that 'sorry' or 'thanks' were unknown concepts to you." He joked with a smile.

"Yeah.. well.. that proves the fact that I'm delirious." Gail whispered as closed her eyes slowly. Somehow the only thing she wanted to do was sleep, she was aware that sleeping in this kind of situations wasn't good but she could not help herself. She blinked several time, trying to stay awake.

"Where the hell is that ambulance?" She blurted as her vision started to blur. She felt that her arm was numbed and her head was too heavy all of the sudden..

She heard the voices of Holly and Dov on her mind, calling her like an echo inside her head... Then a wave of pain hit her, and she blacked out.

* * *

**HOLLY **was at the police station of the 15 division, sitting in the waiting room..

Her phone was on her hand because she was checking the screen almost every minute, either waiting a call from the hospital or just checking what time it was.

She felt frustrated and powerless.. Dov didn't let her go inside the ambulance with Gail because according the protocol, she must go to the station to give her statement about the facts.

"This is ridiculous.." She thought while she stood up.. she started to circle around the room, trying to calm down. She wasn't supposed to be there, she didn't want to be there..

She had already been interrogated but that was like an hour ago.. Dov told her that she had to wait here.. Although, he also said that someone would come up to tell her that she was free to go.. but she hadn't seen an officer since then.

Her thoughts came back to Gail, one more time in that day.. and she felt that her head was going to explode.. She wanted to scream at her for having put herself in the way of that bullet, for doing such a stupid thing but she also wanted to thank her for it, for saving her..

And when she was alone with that guy in the room, she had wished that Gail would have been there with her but when she appeared out of nowhere, she just wanted her to run and get out of there as fast as her legs let her. There were too many conflicting thoughts in her head in that moment..

And right now she was also afraid.. when Gail was awake in the lab, she had tried to stay calm and chase away the concern and the fear but when the blonde passed out, all those emotions came back to her... and they weren't easy to handle..

Then she saw Oliver Shaw walking to her direction, and suddenly all the thoughts vanished from her head.

"Holly, right? We met at the wedding." He asked when he reached her. The brunette nodded her head in silent, waiting for him to talk. But the man didn't say another word, surprisingly and without warning, Oliver raised his hands and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you.. for taking care of her." He whispered without, letting her go. "If you hadn't been there, she probably would have walked to the hospital by her own foot.. She gives new meaning to the word stubborn." Oliver said with a smile..

Holly smiled back, she knew the man was right.. "Can I go now then? I would like to go to the hospital.." She explained with honesty, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Sure, I came here to tell you so.. and sorry for the waiting, it's been a tough day.." Shaw said, walking her out to the door of the police station. "Would you do me a favor, Holly?" He asked when they were outside the building. "Call me if there is any changed..is that okay?"

"Of course, I'm gonna take the rest of the day off.. So if something changes, i'll let you know." She said, before lifting her hand to call a taxi.

Oliver walked to the front door but he turned for a second. "I'm glad she has someone like you in her life, Holly.."

The doctor nodded while a blush creeping up into her cheeks.. then she climbed into the taxi..

* * *

**THE** first time Gail Peck woke up from her nap, she was lying on a stretcher in a very small space.. She had a paramedic around her, giving her oxygen with a mask.. She heard sirens and traffic and they were moving... so she figured that she was in the damn ambulance which took so long to arrive at the scene.

"Officer Peck, do you hear me? Are you allergic to any medications?" The paramedic asked her when he saw she was opening her eyes.

The blonde managed to shake her head.. and she hoped that was enough because everything became a blur again as her eyes were closing..

* * *

**THE** next time her eyes opened, she was still lying on a stretcher.. but it was a different one, a hospital bed... definitely more comfortable than the last one, when she was at the ambulance, she felt she was lying on a metal plate..

The took a look around, trying to become familiar with the environment..

There was a window but the blinds were closed.. on the nightstand, there was a card and a bouquet of flowers in a vase..

She wanted to know who had sent her flowers, so she moved her hand to grab the card, and instantly she felt a stab of pain trough her left arm.. She cursed out loud for having forgotten about the bullet and decided to forget about the card by now.

She looked at her shoulder which it was bandaged, her arm was itchy and the wound was burning..

And then, she lifted her head when a sound caught her attention.. she thought hearing her mum's voice, yelling at someone at the hall, as usual..

Gail quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.. There was something worst than being shot.. Yeah, she knew it.. talk to her mother after being shot..

She thought that it would be definitely worst..but she wasn't in the mood to try to corroborate her hypothesis.

She listened how the door was opened and how someone sat on the chair next to the bed.. The blonde remained quiet, without saying a word or moving a muscle..And in some point the medications started to kick in, because after a few minutes, she fell asleep again.

* * *

**A** couple of hours later, a nurse walked into the room to change the bandage for a new one, and give her a bunch of pills.

"Official Peck.." She said, taking a look at her medical record. "The wound is clean and the anesthesia must be gone by now. How are you feeling?" She wanted to know while she was looking at her over her horn-rimmed glasses.

Gail smiled to herself, that gesture was familiar.. "I'm feeling great, I've slept in one day more than in the last 3 years.. So I think I'm fine to go." She said trying to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

The nurse stared at her with a knowing look. "I see you're one of those patients.. you don't like hospitals, do you?" The woman was in her forties.. she probably had been in the hospital enough time to know all the tricks and excuses.

And she was right, Gail didn't like hospitals.. actually there were a lot of things that Gail didn't like, but hospitals.. if she ever did a hate list, hospitals would definitely be on the top of it. "I don't think anybody likes hospitals ma'am.." She assured, arching her blonde eyebrow.

"You would be surprised." The woman laughed.. "The operation went without complications... the doctor took the bullet out and sewed the wound.. you're in observation period right now.. so i'm afraid you get stuck with me tonight." She joked friendly..

Gail was about to shrug but then she remembered that it was better not to do it.. She noticed that there were more things over the nightstand than the last time she checked. There was a a box of chocolates and a cactus.. "Do you know who brought that thing?" She asked, pointing at the cactus with her eyes.

The woman turned to look where the patient was pointing.. "Ahh the cactus, the man who brought it was from the 15's division as well. Tall, thin, blue eyes.. he also said that the plant fit with your personality." The nurse explained, trying not to laugh.

"Epstein.." The blonde muttered under her breath..

The woman continued talking. "The bouquet of flowers is from someone named Oliver Shaw, according by the card.. and the big cookie over there has just arrived... I'll come back to check on you in a few hours..Try to rest." The nurse said, walking out the door.

* * *

**HOLLY** had gone to the hospital cafeteria to grab a big mug of coffee, it has been a long day and she needed the caffeine to keep her eyes open for the next hours.

When she was heading back to Gail's room, she nearly collided with the nurse who was going out the door in that same moment.

Once she went in, she saw that Gail had gotten out of bed and she was staring at the cookie which she had left over the table like an hour ago. "What the hell is that?" She said, not taking her eyes away from the enormous cookie.

Holly shrugged as dropped the mug over the table.."In the store there wasn't a card with what I wanted to say." She just said. "You should go back to the bed.."

"Really? And what did you want to say?" The blonde said, ignoring the suggestion..

The brunette sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about it.. "I don't know.. thanks for being such a good human shield?" She commented, smiling.

"That's weird.. even for you." Gail answered, taking a seat next to her. "You know.. now that I remember.. if you got paid for collecting other people's coats in a wedding, i should get paid for this too."

Holly chuckled, giving her the reason.. but then became serious and she stared at the blonde. "Thank you, I mean it.." Her eyes were shining and her voice was ragged..

"It's okay.."Gail said, trying to comfort her and then she held her hand.. "But don't get used to it.. now that I know how it feels, I won't do it again.. even if you pay me." She warned, showing a brilliant smile.. then she realized that it was late.

She had been the whole day sleeping but Holly must be tired.. "It's late.. Shouldn't you go home?" She asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

The brunette took a few seconds to answer.. Gail wasn't an easy person to read but she was learning to see through that shell she always was wearing.. "Are you kidding? You owe me a date, remember?" She winked at her.

The blonde dropped her jaw, surprised.. "Are you serious? I can't leave this room.."

"So? We have your snarky comments and my cookie which is ridiculously big.. Besides I told Oliver that I would keep an eye on you.. Do you need something else?" She pushed her glasses up to her nose and stared at her with a killer smile.

Holly didn't know if it was because the drugs or the effect of her special smile.. but she knew that Gail would not say a word against her improvised date.

And she was right but it had nothing to do with the drugs the doctor had given to the blonde.. That smile disarmed her completely.. so dazzling that the her mind drew a blank.

Gail blinked till she seemed to come back to that hospital room.. "Okay.. but if you're staying overnight .. you sleep in the chair. " She joked, with sarcasm. "There's no way I'm going to sleep with you on our first date." The blonde looked at her satisfied, daring her to answer back.

Holly turned to her, tilting her head. "Who said something about sleeping?" She said, leaving the blonde with the doubt of if she was being serious or not.  
Gail Peck remained silent, she had the words on the tip of her tongue but they refused to come out.. She sighed frustrated, she never used to lose.. but she had to recognize that this time Holly had won the verbal assault...

(And we all know, ''Holly included'' that something like that doesn't happen everyday..)

* * *

**I decided to be nice this time and do not end the chapter with the cliffhanger. (but for the record i know you all love it !) jajajaj.**

**Some of you wanted to be Holly the one who was shot, but I had already started to write the chapter and was Gail who was in the line of fire, so it seemed logical to me that it had to be the blonde.**

**But i like the idea of seeing Gail's nurturing side, so i think i'll write about it in other chapter.**

**That's it for today.. and as usual if you wanna comment something, you know what to do.  
****Thanks for the support! You guys are awesome!**

**PS: Have a ni.. .. .. .. Bye bye ;')**

**AHA**


	6. What's On Your Mind?

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Hey there everyone! How are y'all? I got a new chapter for you guys :'D****That's the good news.. the bad one is that i'm not gonna write more until the next week..**

**Sorry but in my city this is a week of management holidays and I'm gonna be either celebrating, or sleeping.. no time for writing in my schedule.. **

**And now here we go! Put your seat-belts on.. coz this is going to be a twisty chapter. ;'D  
****ENJOY!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

**WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?**

**A** couple of weeks had passed since the shooting, and everything had normalized in the 15 division .. more or less.  
Holly had also come back to work after taking a few days off.. in fact she was working at that moment.

She was at her lab, with her white coat and a pair of blue gloves on her hands, working in some random case, trying to keep herself busy.  
Occasionally she had flashback about what happened that day but she did her best not to think about it. But that wasn't the thought that was bothering her..

She hadn't heard from Gail since she got out of the hospital, for some reason she hadn't returned any of her calls.. and that was upsetting.. She knew that she hadn't come back to work yet but that was all.. no tweets, no calls, no texts.. or any signal from her ..

The whole situation was strange.. The night she had stopped by the hospital to check on her was great.. They spent the whole night talking and joking, till the blonde fell asleep.. and then the doctor went home with a dumb smile on her lips..

She just didn't get it, she didn't understand what was going on in Gail's mind.. And having no clue was beginning to get on her nerves.

The doctor was examining some samples when a knock at her door distracted her, she turned around to find Mat, leaning at the frame door.

"If I didn't know you better, I would think you have been avoiding me for the last week." He only said, resting his head against the wall..

The brunette let out a sigh as searched the right words to say.. He was right, she had been avoiding him because she didn't want to talk to him about his beautiful, hot (and lesbian by the way) cousin, Susan..  
"Mat.. I couldn't ignore you even if I want to. We work in the same building, remember?" She gave him a knowing look but she was aware that he wasn't gonna let go his bone.

"Come on Holly.. we know each other and you know what I mean." He said, walking into the room and taking a seat on the couch.

Yeah.. he was right.. again.. Mat and Holly met when they were in high school, they had similar aspirations, they were both good looking and they got along great.. So nobody seemed surprised when they started dating in college... they were inseparable so it didn't seem a bad idea at the time..

Then, well.. Holly finally came out of the closet and they broke up.. As time went on, they kinda grew apart and lost contact a little bit but after a while, things calmed down and they went back to being friends. He was her best friend.. he knew it as well as she did.. He knew her very well.. so it was a waste of time trying to hide something from him.

The doctor raised her hands as a sign of surrender. "Alright.. tell me, what do you wanna know, you busybody?" She said, taking off the glasses.

He rubbed his hands together as he looked at her. "First of all, how did it go with the blind date?"

"Susan is great, Mat.. She's beautiful, funny and very honest." She made a pause, trying to know how to continue. "I like her." She said, shrugging.

"But?" He added, frowning.

"How do you know there's a 'but' ?" The brunette asked, arching an eyebrow while she was cleaning her glasses.

"Holly, that look on your eyes only can means one thing, There's a 'but' in the equation." He explain while Holly was cursing in low voice.. He knew her so damn well..

The woman leaned back in her desk chair, clearly defeated. "She's awesome.. but I can't go out with her.." She whispered.

"Why not?" He didn't seem angry or mad.. he just wanted to know what was happening..

"She's your cousin.. considering our story it would be a bit awkward, don't you think?.." She lied, trying to get out the hook.

Mat stood up and came closer to her, then he ruffled her hair with his hand, playfully. "That happened like a thousand of years ago, girl.. So tell me who is holding you back?" He said, smiling. "Spit it out.."

"It may be someone." She admitted, playing with her glasses on her hands, obviously nervous. "We have gone out a few times but it's complicated Mat.. and after the shooting, things are kind of weird between us.." She started to ramble.

"No shit.. You're talking about the hot blonde cop, aren't you?" He asked, totally surprised but he didn't wait for an answer. "I thought she was 100% straight."

Holly felt the blush on her cheeks as stared at the ground.. "Yeah.. I think that may be part of the problem.."

"So how have you ended up falling for a straight girl?" He asked, chuckling..

"It's not funny ok?" She looked at him with frustration.. "I went with her to that wedding a few weeks ago as her plus one, and I kissed her... it was a silly move, I really don't know what I was thinking.. I mean she's complex and interesting and kind of funny.."

"Don't forget extremely or ridiculously attractive.." Mat cut her off.

Holly nodded. "Thank you Mat, I hadn't noticed it." She said in a sarcastic tone. "But my point is that she is not gay.. or at least she hasn't said anything about it." The brunette said, before telling him the whole story..

* * *

**A few minutes later, when Holly had already finished of telling him everything**.  
The man shook his head, in an attempt to understand. "What's the problem then? You kissed her, she kissed you.. she took a bullet for you and then, you saved her by keeping her alive till the paramedics arrived..I'd say that you two complement each other." He said with a grin. "I guess Susan will have to find another person to hang out with."

She gave her an honest look. "Sorry about that.. but Susan is incredible, she won't have much troubles to find someone else." Holly admitted, staring blankly at some point of the whites walls in front of her.

She remained silent for several seconds. "Do you think she's exploring the borders of her 'personal life'? Or is she playing with me?" She exhaled heavily the air that she had been holding and sighed. That question had been stalking her since a while..

Mat took her hand and stared at her with an understanding look. "Holly, this whole thing is something new for her, maybe she is a bit overwhelmed.. it'd be normal." He supported her.

The pathologist let out a bitter smile, Gail Peck could be a lot of things.. but be a person who feels overwhelmed by the circumstances didn't seem to be one of them. "You think i'm being paranoid, don't you?"

Mat smiled friendly. "I just think that the two of you need to talk.. you know? Clear things out.. That's all." He answered as shrugged..

And Holly thought that he was right, so she made a decision... if the blonde didn't return her phone calls, she would have to go to her place and talk to her in person.

* * *

"**HOW** do you feel?" A voice resonated in the room, pulling Gail Peck out of her thoughts.  
The blonde shook her head and raised her light blue eyes to look at the shrink, sitting in front of her.

"I was shoot.. in case you haven't noticed... but the recovery is going fine if that's what you're asking doctor." She said curtly.

She was sitting in one of those sofas where you can lie down, if in this way you are more willing to open your soul and expose your secrets to a psychologist.

"I'm more concern about your mental status, officer Peck.. may I call you Gail?" The blonde nodded.. "The doctors of the hospital took care of your physical injuries... nothing to do with what I do, my line of work is to determinate if you're mentally ready to go back to the force.. that's why we are here." The psychologist explained slowly.

She was a woman around her forties, she had a friendly look which made feel comfortable to the most of her patients.. But the blonde who was staring at her, without saying a word, was clearly an exception. "This should be easy then.. I don't have any kind of mental injuries.." Gail blurted out.

The older woman left her notebook on the table, and leaned slightly forward. "You sure about that? Isn't there something you want to talk about?" She said, trying not to push her too much.

Gail was out of her element, all her muscles were tense and her jaw was clenched tightly.. Talk about problems was definitely not her thing..

"It's not necessary, if I wanted to talk to someone about it, I would do it.."

The woman thought about trying a different approach. "Getting shot is not something that happens on regular basis, Gail.. It's not strange that people who have been through a trauma like that, eventually develop feelings as fear or insecurity.. sometimes even depression." She explained in an attempt to get to her.

The blonde set her glare on her with eyes wide opened. "Are you kidding? I'm not depressed and i'm definitely not afraid of doing my job." She said in the same tone.. her shoulder still hurt a bit and she wasn't in a good mood.. it wasn't the best combination to have that conversation.

"What about insecurity? You have not denied that." The question echoed in the room.

The policewoman thought that somehow she was right, Gail hadn't said a word about insecurity and at the moment she heard the question something flipped a switch inside her, and suddenly her legs started walking without her control towards the door. "You know what? I don't want to be here, and i'm pretty sure I don't need this." Gail said, her voice was more louder than before.

The psychologist was gonna lose her.. She knew that if the blonde walked out the door, she wouldn't have a reason to come back again. "Is your job what makes you feel insecure?" She asked when the blonde's hand was at the knob door.

Gail stopped short and slowly turned around."I know the rules, I respect them and I protect them.. I know what I would have to sign up for when I decided to become a cop.. and I don't have regrets for anything that i've done so far... I know how to do my job and i'm not scared for having to go outside everyday to try to make this city a better place to live." She made a pause to take some air before continuing.

"I'm good at what I do and I may be a rookie yet but I'm a fast learner.. The question here is, what do I have to say or do to make you understand that?" She finished, still standing at the door frame.

"You don't like shrinks, right?" The woman said with a smile.

The blonde sighed and arched an eyebrow.. the conversation was too surreal. "I don't like the situation in which a completely stranger sits in front of me to analyze me or judge me without actually know who I am.. And I clearly don't like the fact that someone has to give me some sort of authorization to go back to work based on what I say or how I feel.. It's a ridiculous method, and highly inaccurate"

She woman who was sitting on the couch nodded. "I understand but it's protocol.. And after all, you have said that you respect the rules, am I wrong?" She said using the blonde's words against her. "Why don't you take a seat and give this a try? You have nothing to lose.."

The blonde stopped to weigh her options. "Fifteen minutes.. that's all the time i'm willing to lose here." She finally said.

"Fair enough.. now tell me, which aspect of your life makes you feel insecure?" The doctor was trying to go back to the point where they were before, judging by the blonde's reaction, there must be something interesting there.

Gail walked wearily to the couch, and plopped down on it. "Personal life.. trust people... relationships.." She said in a whisper.

"Tell me about that." She grabbed the notebook and a pen, and started taking notes.

"I've had a couple of bad experiences over the last few years and eventually I've started to think there's only a way not to have to play the broken hearted girl role... Not trusting on someone who can harm you" The blonde said softly, staring at the ground and playing nervously with her hands.

The woman let out a sigh.."Sounds logical but there's a problem in your theory.. You cannot choose who will disappoint you and who won't.. the only thing you can do is trusted them not to.."

"I don't know if that's a good advice in this moment, doc." The blonde managed to say with all the respect she could.

"Look Gail, now you're just seeing the negative part of all this.. you are feeling insecure, like everybody else in some point of their lives but that feeling never has to be an excuse to avoid trusting on someone.. you have to let people get to know you. In your work you have to trust on your partners and in your personal life is the same thing." If the psychologist was waiting for a response, she wasn't gonna get one.. The blonde was immersed in her thoughts, listening her words.. It was something that it seemed impossible at the beginning of the session.

"In the official report of what happened that morning in the morgue, it says that you got shot because you were protecting someone, Holly Stewart.. the same person who looked after you till the ambulance arrived, is that true?" The doctor asked with interest.

Gail held her glare, trying to intimidate her. "I don't know what has to do Holly with all this."

There was another pause, the two women stared at each other till the psychologist broke the silent with three simple words. "You trusted her.."

The blonde unconsciously narrowed her eyes. "What's your point?"

"What I mean is that you're gonna trust on people even when you're not aware of it..even if you don't want to do it. You cannot avoid it because trust is not a choice but the result of a variety of circumstances.. Gail, As soon as you realize that, the better." A buzz sounded in the room and the woman checked her phone. "Looks like our time is up officer Peck.. do you want to schedule another appointment?"

Gail Peck stood up and walked to the door. "See you next week, doc.." She hissed.. Like it or not that woman had made her think about some things, she wasn't sure if that was gonna help her but like the doctor had said, she had nothing to lose.

* * *

**HOLLY** turned off the engine and got out of the car, she was in front of Gail's apartment.. Dov, her roommate must be at work, so she should be alone.. or at least she hoped so.

The pathologist walked through the paved road and entered in the building.. She was about to reach the door of the apartment when her phone rang on her purse..

She read Gail's name on the screen but instead of picking up the call she decided to knock at the door. The phone stopped ringing and nobody opened the door.. She waited out there for a couple of minutes but there was no answer.. She wasn't home..

Holly walked towards the elevator in which she had ascended minutes before and pressed the button.. She was disappointed.. the trip had been a completely waste of time, she hadn't been able to see the blonde and even less talk to her.. A total failure.

When the elevator's doors opened and Holly was about to get in, someone who was getting out at full speed collided with her. The person must be carrying a cup of coffee, or something because the brunette's jacket ended up full of brown stains.

"What the..?" A voice she knew well started to curse in a low voice even before looking at her.. Holly smiled to herself and took a step back to let her get out of the lift.

"Are you okay?" Holly asked, covering her mouth with her left hand, trying to suppress a laugh, but somewhat failed and began to continuously giggle.

At the sound of the laugh, Gail looked up to find the pathologist staring at her over her glasses.  
"What? Holly? What are you doing here? I've called you like five minutes ago." The blonde babbled.

"I know but I was outside your door and I thought you were at home.." She explained, when the attack of laughter stopped and she could catch her breath.

Gail shook her head. "Oh no.. I had an appointment with a shrink.. psychological evaluation and all that, you know how it works."

Holly looked at her with concern.. For what she knew about Gail, she didn't love shrinks.. "How did it go?"

The blonde winced and squeezed her nose. "It may not be as bad as I thought it would be." She honestly said.

A smile escaped from Holly's lips. "Glad to hear that." She recognized, being polite.

"Yeah, thanks.." Gail looked down, and then saw the stains on the brunette's jacket. "Oh god, I'm so sorry about your jacket.. I didn't see you." She grabbed a Kleenex from somewhere and began to rub the stains from the pathologist's clothing.

Holly placed her hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "It's okay" She said softly but the blonde kept trying wipe the stains out. "Gail, it's okay" She said, slightly louder.. this time she took her hand to make her stop and it finally worked.

The blonde raised her light blue eyes, and Holly's vision became a blur all of the sudden.. She just could focus on those big and expressive eyes of the blonde..For a moment she was left without breath, what was becoming a habit when Gail was around her.

There wasn't a single thought on her mind.. Because for some reason she had forgotten everything she had thought to tell her.

Then Gail parted her lips, not saying a word either.. and the brunette also lost the ability to speak.. But It didn't actually matter.. Deep down she was aware that if something came out of her mouth at that moment, would be nonsense words.

The only thing she knew for sure, was that she wanted to lean in and kiss her.. Express everything she needed to say without having to pronounce a single word.

* * *

**I'll have a drink for you tonight.. or maybe a dozen. ;'D**  
**I'll be back next week! Leave your opinion or review if you want!**

**Take care everyone!**

**AHA**


	7. Best Case Scenario

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**Hi everyone :'D So sorry for the delay... this chapter took me more time than I thought at first. I was blocked and I didn't know how to continue... a lot of party, the lack of sleep = goodbye neurons!**

**Anyway i finally managed to finish it, so it's all yours.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

**BEST CASE SCENARIO**

**THE** blonde was rubbing the jacket with a kleenex, trying to wipe the coffee stains out of the doctor's clothes, when Holly caught her hand, gentling pulling her towards her.

"Gail, it's okay.." The pathologist said not letting go her hand. "It's a simple jacket.. with a full side zipper detailing, placket collar and belted waist in a structured, soft cotton" She said, chuckling..

The sound of her laughter made her stop for a second to look up.. Her eyes grew wide, when her gaze was settled on those lovely brown eyes.. Gail Peck froze when she realized how close the doctor's face was from her but she couldn't help herself..

"Are you kidding me?" The blonde gave her an interrogation look and blinked, feeling confused..

Holly only held her glare with a smile, teasing her without trying to hide it..

Gail needed to say something clever but a lot of thoughts were flitting through her head in that moment, and she wasn't able to focus on a single one.. It wasn't the first time that they were in a similar situation.. so close than Gail could feel her warm breath on her cheeks.. but still, being just a few inches from her made her feel different and a bit nervous, in the good way.

A word made its way into her mind among the brainstorming.. _'Nervousness?'_ She thought with disbelief.

It wasn't a emotion she was used to. She never used to have sweaty hands, always had a snarky comment ready to spit it out at everybody and her heart rate was increased only in rare occasions... but all those things were happening more frequently since she met Holly.. For much she tried, she couldn't deny it anymore to herself.

The blonde stared down at her, watching every feature of her face like she was trying to memorize it.. There wasn't much light in the hallway because there was just one window behind them and a couple of lamps which were activated by movement..  
Conclusion: they didn't see pretty well..

But it was enough for Gail to distinguish the arch of the brunette's eyebrows, the shinning of her eyes and how her lips moved slightly, forming a gleaming smile.

She was watching those lips when Holly decided to say something to break the silence.  
"You're allowed to talk, y'know.. I don't bite." She leaned in to whisper in her ear.

A shiver ran through the blonde's spine when she felt Holly's lips moving in her earlobe and then showed a twisted smiled when the perfect comment started to form in her head.

The brunette stepped back, wondering what she was up to.. what that smile meant.. and she didn't have to wait too long to find out.

"Well, that's too bad for you.." The policewoman said, bitting her lower lip suggestively before leaning in to her ear. "Because I do.." She said the words slowly, giving her time to understand what she meant..  
Then she brushed her neck, using her lips and noticed that she wasn't the only one in that hall with an increased heart rate. She smiled to herself.. she felt proud and relieve for knowing that she also could get Holly nervous if she wanted to.

Gail pulled away from her neck and one more time their eyes met.. but there was understanding and complicity this time, like if they were talking through their eyes and their bodies.

They were so quiet that suddenly the lights went out due to the lack of movement, and it was like the output signal..

Automatically they approximated to each other, and their lips met halfway in order to melt into a kiss.  
Gail noticed that her hands began to move on their own.. With one of them she stroked Holly's cheek, while she was searching for the keys in her jeans pocket with the other one.

She felt the doctor's tongue playing with her lips, teasing her.. which made her loss control for a second and break the kiss, tilting her head to one side in an attempt to catch her breath.

The brunette seized the moment and she slid her lips from underneath the blonde's ear to the beginning of her collarbone, leaving a trail of wet kisses on their way.

Gail threw her head back, to give her more space.. And finally she managed to grab the keychain of her back pocket but the brunette was still totally focused on her, and she didn't want her to stop.  
Holly was licking her earlobe now, drawing patterns with her tongue..

The blonde opened her mouth unwittingly and what it was gonna be a relief sigh for finding the keys, became a moan of pleasure when the sensation overtook her.. She tried to repress it but the moan came out of her mouth anyways.  
Holly heard it, and the blonde knew it because she felt her warm lips smiling over her skin.

The blonde decided to strike back and with a fast move, she changed their positions and pushed Holly against the wall.. She heard a metallic sound when the keys slipped through her fingers and landed on the floor but she didn't care..

"Keys.." Was the only word that the pathologist could whisper before the blonde attacked her lips and engulfed them in a passionate kiss. The sudden change of roles took Holly by surprise but she didn't complain either. She was too busy, trying to keep pace with the blonde.

The brunette moaned against her mouth when Gail bit her lower lip and pulled it out towards her, before she finally ended the kiss, leaving the doctor gasping and craving for more.

Gail bent down to reach the keys and the lights were activated, illuminating the hall. Her hands trembled lightly but she fitted the key in the lock and opened the door.

She turned to look at Holly.. her hair was tousled and her eyes were shiny but half closed by the light.. She noticed that she wasn't wearing her glasses.. although she could have sworn that she had them a few minutes ago.  
Then she stared at her lips... they were slightly swollen and that made them even more attractive if that was possible.. But despite everything, she looked gorgeous, even wearing a jacket with coffee stains. She thought..

"So.. do you want to go inside? or you just wanted to come here to bump into me in the corridor of my building?" Gail asked, holding the door for her with a mischievous smile.

* * *

**HOLLY **who was still standing in the hall, took a deep gulp of air... Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to regain her breath and bring her heart rate back to normal..

She knew that Gail Peck was a complicated woman, her moods went up and down at breakneck speed.. going from funny to sarcastic, from sarcastic to honest, from honest to hot and finally from hot to cold.. all in the same hour.. Holly knew it but she hadn't got used to it yet... she didn't know how someone could ever get used to that..

"No.. I have just done all the way here to make out with you for a while and then leave.." She said as she entered the apartment; She took off her jacket and left it over a table, then she sat on the couch, threw her head back and closed her eyes in silent.

The pathologist heard how the door was closed and the sound of footsteps walking around the room, after a while, the sounds stopped and after several seconds the blonde spoke.

"I owe you an apology, Holly." She heard how the blonde said in a low voice.

The brunette opened her eyes slowly to find her sitting on the coffee table just in front of her. She was rubbing her hands, and was looking at the ground nervous, but she continued talking.

"I told you the first day we met, I'm like a cat.. i'm very good at climbing trees and now I have climbed a new tree and. I have used the shooting like an excuse, like an emergency situation.." She whispered.

Holly was unable of being mad at her right now, she looked so vulnerable that it would be like stab her in the back.. Gail wasn't the apology kind of girl, it was obvious.. so she decided to go easy on her. The metaphor of the tree apparently was working for her, so she decided to go that way.. If talking about their relation meant talking about cats, trees and firefighters.. so be it.

"Do you wanna get down of the tree this time?" Holly asked, looking at her.. her eyes were shinning, waiting for an answer.

The blonde shook her head before raising her eyes. "No.. the view is pretty awesome from up here." She admitted, showing a little smile. "I'm just afraid of falling to the ground.. that's why I do the one step forward, two steps back thing.. but i'm quite comfortable up here."

Holly couldn't take her eyes away from her.. Gail Peck who used to be the ice queen, right now was the cutest thing she had ever seen, absolutely adorable.. but she had to stop staring and say something comforting.. She didn't want her to be afraid.

"Gail, i'm not gonna let you fall; I'll be your firefighter if you ever want to get down of this..tree. You don't need excuses or metaphors about relationships.. you just have to talk to me, i'm listening now.. I will always do." She explained, grabbing her chin kindly. "I'm here for you."

The blonde's eyes were glowing like if she was about to cry, that's why the doctor approached to hug her.. She wasn't sure that Gail was a hug person but she did it anyways because the doctor could see that she needed it.. it was quite clear.

"I know I've been sending mixed signals.. I want to explain why." Gail sighed and remained in silent for some minutes, then she started telling her the whole story about her relationship with Nick and Andy's betrayal..

Holly just listened, nodded and every now and then she caressed the blonde's hand, trying to support her. She didn't opened her mouth to say anything or interrupted her somehow.. If Gail wanted to get all those things out of her system, out of her head.. if she needed to share them with her, Holly would let her.

For the pathologist, some of the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place as she was listening the story. Suddenly she understood one of the reason for which Gail behave like she used to, why she looked so angry sometimes and why she was always wearing that shield to keep people out of her way. A lot of things had sense now...

Once she had finished, Holly looked at her, trying to order her thoughts before talking. "Look Gail, relationships are never white or black.. there's always a big, grey area around them.." She said, not taking her eyes away from her. "I know that letting someone to know you can be scary, now that I know all those things about you, I understand you a bit better, and I know how you feel but it's okay, it's normal.. I used to feel like that too."

Gail nodded in silent, she didn't need to say anything because her eyes were speaking for her. "I like you.." Holly dropped the words all of the sudden. "I do and you know it.. I can't tell you that I won't ever hurt you, because you know, sometimes bad things just happens..but I will never do it on purpose.." She whispered, trying to smile.

"What I can promise is that I will be there for you as long as you want me to be.. I'm not the kind of girl who run away when the situation gets ugly.." She made a pause to take a deep breath.. "What I mean is that you can trust on me, I'm not going anywhere." The brunette assured.. her words were honest and her expression was 100% sincere.

* * *

**YEAH..** Gail could tell her words were honest and that scared the hell out of her. She had an internal battle within her..

On the one hand her head told her to take the door and get out of there as fast as her legs would let her. But on the other hand, those words which scared her, were the thing that she had been expecting for so long.. Someone who really cared about her, who understood her, who listened her.

After a moment of hesitation, Gail jumped up from the coffee table..

..

...

She placed her hands on the couch where Holly was sitting and leaned over to plant a kiss on her mouth. Her lips were trembling a bit but she still managed to say something. "I do.." She whispered, just a few inches away from the other's woman face.

Holly stared at her, puzzled.. trying to find out what she was talking about.

"I count on you, I do.. trust you." The blonde clarified, while she withdrawn a blond lock from her eyes. "You have to accept it because you are one of the few people who can actually stand me." She said giggling.

It was Holly's turn to leaned over, looking for the blonde's lips.. and they were about to kiss again when someone put the key in the door lock to enter in the apartment.

Gail stopped, paralyzed.. there was a dark shadow of panic in her blue eyes.. Dating a woman was one thing.. but be caught red handed by one of her roommates was a completely different one..

Gail Peck used to do things in a correct way.. and what was about to happen wasn't her definition of doing things right...

* * *

**DOV **Epstein came home after a long day of work, he was exhausted and tired but he was aware that her roommate was going through a bad time, so he tried to put the best smile he afforded to do...

But the smile turned into a look of surprise when he succeeded in opening the door. "Hi.." He only managed to pronounce.

Gail was lying on the couch and he noticed that she wasn't alone.. Holly, the forensic pathologist was sitting next to her, apparently watching a documentary on TV.

He left the Thai food he had bought in the kitchen and then went back to the living room with the two women. "Now I get it." He blurted out after a few seconds..

The blonde turned her head and stared at him from the couch with a suspicious glance. "What are you getting, king of the dorks?" The blonde asked, clearly on the defensive

Dov raised a hand in which he was holding something, Gail recognized Holly's glasses. "I found these in the hall, outside the door.. Are you watching TV without them?" He asked, turning to Holly.

The woman smiled slightly, a little nervous.. "I didn't know where I left them.. Thank you for bring them back." He handed her the glasses, and the pathologist put them over her eyes. "Yes, this is better.."

"No problem." He blurted but he had a suspicious look on his face. "Gail, I've invited Tracy to come and have dinner.. I thought that you could use some company.. and definitely some wine." He said chuckling.

When Holly heard those words, she stood up from the couch like a spring. "Then I think I should get going.. She's all yours." She said the last three words looking directly at Gail with a impish grin, before taking her jacket.

"I'll walk you out." The blonde exclaimed, jumping off the couch and racing to meet her but Dov got to the brunette before her.

"Hey, It's Holly, right? Sorry, my memories about the shooting, are a bit fuzzy." He asked, grabbing her wrist before she opened the door.. Holly just nodded.

"Do you wanna join us?" He said in a voice friendly and cheerful.. then he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "If she grab the bottle of wine, believe me... the more people, the better." He spoke in a low voice, but not low enough for Gail not to hear him.

The blonde gave him a nudge, and if that wasn't clear enough, she showed him a killer look.

Holly watched the scene with interest, trying not to laugh. "I know.. I've had to deal with her in that mental state before.." She recognized, and because of that, Gail started to alternate her killer look between them.

"Is that a yes then?.. I don't know that story, so you will have to tell me all about it after dinner." Dov said, staring at Gail shamelessly with a mocking grin.

The blonde let out a loud and deep sigh, revealing her lack of patience in all that concerns Dov.. but then someone knocked at the door... it had to be Tracy, so she ran toward the entrance, trying to escape from that awkward conversation..

"Thanks God you're here." Gail whispered at the moment she saw Tracy Nash, standing in the hall. "I need someone on my side tonight.."

"Hello for you too." Nash murmured, laughing.. "What are you talking about, Peck? Did you take your medication today?" She joked, looking over the blonde's shoulder. "Is that Holly?" She asked when she recognized her figure.

Gail didn't say a word.. she just nodded frenetically.

"You don't look nervous at all..y'know?." She said to her, her tone filled with sarcasm.

"And you're not helping, even a bit." Gail replied with accusing eyes.

"Okay, why don't we start again? Hi! Wouhh Holly's here.. that's a great thing." Tracy reasoned, looking at her friend and raising her thumbs as a sign of approval. She was being friendly, trying to calm her friend down. "If you're worried about Dov's questions.. i'm sure you can handle him, you always do..And besides, I'm here to help." She assured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"That's better, the need of punching him in the face is decreasing to normal levels right now." Gail admitted as she took a deep breath.

"You see!? And now let's go inside before Holly starts to think that you only have weird friends." Nash said, leading the way to the living room with a pair of bottles of wine in a bag.

"You're damn right.." The blonde whispered to herself, closing the door.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to pull herself together..

In the best case scenario, that night could be a good chance to get to know Holly better..  
And in the worst case scenario, well.. she preferred not to think about that..

* * *

**I hope you liked it guys! if any of you have some idea about the next chapter, I accept suggestions ;'D  
****Have a good one!**

**AHA**


	8. No Goodbyes

**HOW TO BE A PECK**

**I'm so sorry.. I know it has been a while since the last chapter.. this one took me so long, i honestly apologize..  
****This is a first draft, but I wanted to update ASAP so i'll make corrections tomorrow..**

**:'D And that's all.. enjoy the reading guys, and don't forget to comment.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 8  
****NO GOODBYES**

**GAIL** Peck lifted her hand and glanced at her watch for the tenth time that night.. A growl abandoned her lips as she uneasy moved on the chair.

The atmosphere of the apartment was odd, to say the least. You didn't have to be a genius to be aware of that..

There was some background music, coming from the stereo at the end of the room... a quiet and low song (that should relax the atmosphere, or that's what Tracy had in mind when she chose it) and the Thai food was served at the table of the dinning room.. So far, so good but either the food or the music weren't the problem; the topics of conversation were.

Apparently nobody had ever told Dov that make a third-degree questioning to someone who you just met, wasn't polite..  
Sitting on the table, just in front of him was Gail, with her platinum hair falling over her shoulders.. She had been doing for the last hour one of the things she did best. Practicing her serial killer look on him every time he opened his mouth to say something to Holly..

On the other hand, the poor doctor who was sitting next to Gail, was trying to answer the insistent questions that Dov was throwing at her, whenever he had the chance.

She apparently seemed calm and relax but the blonde had spent enough time with her in the last month to start to recognize those little details that give her away, like the extra time the brunette took every time before saying something, or the use of scientific vocabulary which was increasing as the minutes were passing.

Finally, in front of the seemingly calm doctor was Tracy Nass who seemed like a referee, trying to prevent the chaos and destruction that could be unleashed there that night. Every time to time she called attention to Dov or gave a supportive glance to the blonde.. trying to level things up a little bit.

Eventually there was a silent when Holly finished to answer whatever silly question Dov had questioned her.

Tracy stared at Gail who had her lips pressed into a hard line, then she turned to Dov, knowing that she didn't have much time before he come up with another 'brilliant' thing to comment, and once back to the blonde.. Gail Peck looked a like hunting dog, ready to jump over her prey and take it for dinner.

Tracy shook her head.. Watching a bloodbath between two of her friends wasn't one of the things we wanted to do on a Friday night, so she decided to interfere before Gail could test her attack skills on Dov.

"You're such a nice lady, Holly.." Dov had started to say, deliberately ignoring the warning looks. "How did this character manage to find a friend like yourself?." He said, pointing at the blonde with his head.

"Well.." Holly mumbled, buying some time to find out how to answer that... but fortunately Tracy cut her off, saying..

"Ignore him.. he just loves push people to check their limits.. no wonder why the thought of punching him right in the face have crossed the minds of everyone at the station at some point by now." She explained with a half smile.

The joke made Holly laugh and automatically Gail's face relaxed a bit, her eyebrows shifted to her usual position which believe it or not, was a good sign. "So, how did you become a doctor?" Was Tracy's attempt to change the subject.

Holly, who had grabbed her glass of red wine, took a sip before answering. "Well, as you may notice, I'm not an usual kind of doctor, I mean I did went to med school and all but my patients are rarely alive at the point they get to my table.." Her face remained calm and her voice low and gentle.

"A lot of people find what I do for a living, how to say it.. unpleasant. When I was doing my residence and I had to decide what I was going to specialized in, I realized this city needed more people to do what I do." She took another sip of wine and put the glass back on the table. "With the help of the police, we're able to give those people and their families a closure.. That's how I became a pathologist.. Plus, it's science and I'm a nerd in case you haven't noticed it." She rejoined with wry smile.

Gail whistled in admiration, turning her head to look directly at her. "My story is way more deeper than yours, doc." The blonde teased her. "I became a cop to carry a gun and a taser." She let out, trying not to smile... but after a couple of seconds all of them bursted into laugher at the joke and her failed attempt to remain serious.

"The worst thing is that she actually meant that." Dov added, which was followed by a 'shut-your-big-mouth' glare from Gail, daring him to continue. "Do you remember that time in the squad car?" He said talking to the blonde. "There were two guys, arguing in the street, and my partner here, with her politely usual manners let them know she would taser them right in the balls if they didn't stop fighting. I admit it was pretty awesome.. for a rookie."

Gail showed a grin. "One of us had to play the bad cop, considering you were, correction, still are the baby cop."

"Hit and sunk!" Tracy added to their common friend, laughing.

Dov let out a sigh as he pouted. "Alright, enough laughing at my cost.. I'm not the one who spend a friday night watching tv on the couch." He throw an accusatory look.

"It was a good movie" Gail started but at the same time Holly was saying. "There's nothing wrong with documentary films."

He alternated his gaze between them, realizing that he had hit the nail without actually knowing it. "So..." He began with a crooked smile. "It's not clear.. were you guys watching a film or a documentary?"

Holly decided to remain silent and let Gail do all the talking but seeing that it seemed she wasn't gonna say anything she intervened. "Both... we started watching a movie but when you walked in it had just finished.." She knew it didn't sound too convincing but that was all she could come up with.

Feeling the tension in Gail's body, Holly gently placed her hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed it slightly to show support. The blonde let out an almost an imperceptible sigh, relaxing under her touch.

There was another long silence, the song in the background suddenly stopped.

* * *

"**ANYBODY** want dessert?" Tracy Nash broke the silence as she started gathering all the plates and glasses. She rose and glance at Dov an 'I-need-a-hand' look; He slowly reacted and help her, leaving the two women alone in the room as he headed to the kitchen, following Tracy.

Noticing that Holly hadn't pulled away her hand from her thigh, Gail covered it with hers as she stared at the brunette. "Looks like you could use a drink... can I get you anything?" She muttered, not making any attempt of moving just yet.

Holly tilted her head, thinking. "I'll let you choose." She finally decided with a grin.

Tracy and Dov came back from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of strawberries and chocolate ice cream but both of them kept their hands exactly in the same position. Maybe because they just didn't want to break the touch, or perhaps because it would have been too obvious for the others that they were holding hands if they suddenly broke the contact.

"Anyone else wants something to drink?" The blonde eventually stood up, waiting an answer.

Tracy shook her head but gave her a smile, appreciating the offer.. Dov on the other hand asked for a glass of scotch.

As Gail headed to the cabinet where they stored the bottles she thought about spitting in his glass... Too bad she wasn't a child anymore, otherwise the thought of it would have been too tempting to let it pass.

She put some ice in the glasses, poured some scotch in Dov's and prepared a cocktail for Holly, then she brought them to the table and sat down next to Holly.

Dov was telling a joke, and when he finished they all laughed, maybe for the joke itself or the way he was telling it. Sometimes it was easy to hate Dov, but other times it was hard not to like him. He winked at her to thank her for the drink and started talking with Tracy about work..

The doc who had been eaten the strawberries, took the glass and brought it to her lips to give a short sip. "You're not having one?" It was more an assertion rather than a question.

Gail took one strawberry with chocolate and bit it before replying. "You're gonna need a ride home after you drink that." She smiled, licking the chocolate from her lips which caught Holly's attention.

"You want some?" Gail said lifting another strawberry in front of her. She had caught her staring and was intentionally teasing her.

Holly felt the blushing creeping into her cheeks... she raised the glass again and took a large sip now, trying to hide it but she didn't look away. "It's not strawberries what I have in mind right now." She teased back, lower enough for the others not to hear her.

"Lucky for you, i'm a master at reading minds." The blonde added, taking another strawberry.

"Oh yeah? What am I thinking right now?" Dov asked, interrupting the flirting battle.

"Sorry Dov, my area of expertise are the brilliant minds." She explained, both joking with him and making a compliment to her; therefore, she earned a frown from him and a smile from her.

* * *

**THEY** were talking and joking for about an hour.. it was late and it had been a long day of work for three of them (Gail was still on medical leave) so they finally called it a night.

Holly stood and waved goodbye, thanking them for dinner... She grabbed her jacket and headed to the main door, followed by the blonde.. She suddenly stopped and Gail almost bumped into her. "So, were you serious about taking me home?"

The blonde heard the question but she didn't say anything, just opened the door for her and closed it once they were in the hall.

"Okay.. guess that's a yes." Holly whispered more to herself and followed the blonde to the car.

It was a silence trip.. no music and no small talk... Both of them seemed to feel comfortable with each other, there was no need of filling the silence with useless words, not in that time.

The car arrived to its destination, they climbed out and Gail locked it as she followed Holly to the entrance. They were in a quiet neighborhood, nobody on the street and no noises but the sound of the bugs in the night.

Holly opened the door and got into the house, she hesitated for a second.. and then leaned in the wall, leaving the door opened. The brunette stayed put, with no intention of moving closer to her. Holly didn't turn the lights on.. the thought of Gail in her porch under the starry sky was too tempting.

The blonde looked up to her and gave her an interrogation look. "No goodnight kiss? Not even a goodnight hug?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

There was no answer, and a sign of disappointment crossed through Gail's face for just a second.. She shrugged and slowly started walking towards the car but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I don't want to say goodbye to you just yet.." She muttered. "Would you stay with me tonight?"

Gail felt relief for not being looking at her in that instant, otherwise Holly would have seen the fear and insecurity on her.. And she didn't want that, she didn't like to look so vulnerable.. but on the other hand she wanted Holly, she didn't just 'like' her... she desired her.. like when they were on the couch a few hours back..

Slowly, Gail Peck turned around to face her and reached down to take her hand, letting Holly led her inside the house.

They went to her bedroom and Holly must felt the tension in Gail because she stared at her, hold her face between her hands and kissed her.

It was a slow and delicate kiss, not a passionate one.. Holly wanted to reassure her, not arouse her. They held it for a while until Holly let her go but even then, her face was still close to hers.

"We're not doing it tonight." Her voice was low.. but from the way she said it, it didn't sound like a rejection, so Gail didn't take it that way. "I want to but I'm tired and it's late... I don't believe in 'the right time', but I don't know..i think we can do better than this.." She said offering a crooked smile.

The blonde who had been staring at her since she had pulled back from the kiss, gave her a nod. "But I thought I would sleep on the couch." Gail added.. half seriously and half joking.

Holly who was searching in one of the drawers for something to wear, stopped and looked up to met her eyes. "Why? You think that I can't keep my hands off of you, don't you?" She said, returning to the teasing game.

"Actually I was counting on you not to do that." The blonde muttered, returning the smile but looking away. It was hard to believe that she had said that.. for real.

Holly's smile grew wider as she tossed to the blonde some clothes to sleep, dark shorts and a blue t-shirt of the Blue Jays, the baseball team. "You can use the bathroom if you want." Holly informed, pointing to the other door of the bedroom.

Gail nodded again and closed the door behind her.. She washed her face with cold water, in an attempt to calm down more than to wake herself.

Then she changed quickly but she didn't returned to the bedroom just yet... the idea of surprising Holly half naked crossed her head but she decided to be a good girl and wait a couple of minutes.

The shorts were comfy, a little to shorts though but she didn't care.. and the shirt was tight but it fit well on her. She wondered for a second if Holly had chosen that outfit on purpose but she dismissed the thought.

Then she came out of the bathroom, the light of the room was dim but enough to see until her eyes get used to it. Holly was in front of her, taking off her glasses, placing them on the nightstand next to the alarm clock.

The doc hadn't heard her coming out, so Gail took a moment to look at her from top to bottom. She was wearing just a grey t-shirt, large enough to cover her ass, probably a couple of sizes too big for her. Then she stretched, raising her arms and Gail noted that the shirt slightly hiked off from its position, revealing black underwear underneath it. She also noticed her long, shapely legs.. slim but also slightly muscled..

Before letting the droll collected in a pool on the floor, Gail cleared her throat to let her know they were in the same room. Their eyes met for several seconds. "Nice outfit" Holly managed to say, her eyes shinning in the dark room. "My clothes look good on you."

Gail put her things in a pile on the couch and then clumsily climbed into the bed. "I like yours too." She whispered, looking away.

After that the doctor turned off the light and joined her into the bed, then she pulled the duvet over them to cover their bodies. She slowly bent over the blonde and kiss her on the cheek. "Goodnight Gail." Her voice was calm but there was a hint of something more in it.

She started to pull back, but following an impulse, Gail leaned up to catch her lips with hers in a more suitable goodnight kiss. After a while, Gail let her go.. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stop if she didn't.. "Goodnight doc." She said softly.

Then they lay down, looking at the black ceiling... the blonde could feel every shuffle of Holly's restless body through the mattress as she settled herself, her body shifting beneath the duvet in an attempt to get comfortable, her breathing, her smell.

After a couple of minutes, Gail hesitated but finally made a decision and put her arm around her waist, holding her gently. Automatically Holly turned into the embrace to face her, a small smile crept onto her face.

The blonde couldn't keep her eyes away from that beautiful face, that woman who smiled at her under the moonlight, coming through the window.

Eventually Holly fall sleep on her arms but sleep didn't come so easily to the police officer..

The closeness of Holly, the warmth of her body didn't precisely help her in that task.. She curled around her, listening her heart beats, her head full of things but thinking about nothing.. and at some point of the night, she closed her eyes and started dreaming until she sun raised up in the sky the next morning.

* * *

**Have a nice week y'all! See you with the next chapter.**

**AHA**


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